A Black Adventure: Book 1
by Tubagirl2007
Summary: What else could the daughter of Sirius Black, Marauder, do but make friends with the Weasley twins? And what else could she do but follow in her father's footsteps, protect her God-Brother, and still make top marks at Hogwarts? Then again, adventure is her middle name.
1. Prologue

I sat there, waiting for him to open his eyes, hoping against hope that my Freddie would still be alive. George held onto me, supporting himself, as he cried for the one person who knew him better than anyone to open his eyes. Of all the people who the war had taken, Fred was the one person I never expected. I looked at the faces surrounding us, the family that had taken me in after my own had been killed. I looked over at my god-brother as he looked upon us in despair, blaming himself for Fred.

"Please, Fred." I whispered as I collapsed, no longer able to support myself or George. I thought back to when I had first met the twins, back during our second year, when I had been a transfer student. These two jokers took me under their wings (and very wide wings they happened to be) to teach me about the wondrous school I was soon entering and I educated them on America.

I flashed forward to our third year, the year that The-Boy-Who-Lived joined our merry little group, along with their younger brother and a Muggle-Born witch. We looked upon these three with pity during their first year, but helped them where we could. Of course, Quidditch that year was eventful, what with The-Boy-Who-Lived becoming the youngest seeker in Gryffindor History, or so they said. I cheered him on, because unbeknownst to everyone, he was my God-brother.

Our fourth year came and went, with Fred beginning to show interest in me, but I was too shy to believe it to be true. Then, in our fifth year, he asked me to be his girlfriend and I found myself hopelessly lost in what we were. It was also the year that my father re-entered into my life and my heritage was discovered.

Our sixth year could have been better, but we spent it together, the three of us. We were always inseparable. Forge, Gred, and little ole Cassie. Everywhere we went, the sounds of laughter and merriment followed. It was at the Yule Ball that people began to realize the differences between me and the boys, and yes, I do mean our physical differences.

Then our seventh year came. The year of Dolores Umbridge who tried to force the three of us under her thumb. We all rebelled, but we also took care of those who found themselves being punished by her. It was the year the boys dropped out of Hogwarts, saying good riddance to their own private torture. It was also a year marked by loss for me, where I found comfort in Fred. The Weasleys welcomed me into their home with open arms, making me feel welcomed and safe. There wasn't a night that I didn't wake up, screaming in terror, but there also wasn't a night that Fred didn't come running to my rescue.

Our first year out of Hogwarts was marked with the twins opening up their shop, with me named as partner. Despite the growing dangers, and the fact that most of Diagon Alley closed down, we stayed open. Everyone needed a laugh, and we were happy to provide. It was also the year that Fred proposed to me.

Then came the battle we were all dreading. The battle that had consumed our thoughts for months. That left me sitting here, crying, as I looked down at my soul mate, laying in the dust. Waiting for a response.


	2. A Trip to England, A Trip to Adventure

Chapter One: A Trip to England, A Trip to Adventure.

My name is Cassiopeia Farrin Black, but most people know me as Cass. Yes, I know, so original. But my grandparents didn't want everyone to know and judge me based on my parentage. They never lied to me, told me all about my father. Well, what they knew. They carted me off to America and raised me like an American. It was all that I knew. When my letter for Hogwarts came, my grandparents hid it from me, instead choosing to keep me in America longer, trying to hide me from my fate. By the time the next year came around, I was insisting on attending the school that my father did. Much to the chagrin of my grandparents, we also received a visit from Dumbledore himself. After such summons, my grandparents released their hold over me, allowing me to return to England, to the place of my birth; a place I had not been to since I was very young.

I could barely contain my excitement while on the plane. My grandparents had decided against returning to England, claiming the stress was too much, but I was too excited to care. I would get to see the magical world that they had tried to shelter me from. I exited the plane, bag in hand, grin wide on display. Mr. Dumbledore had told me that I would be greeted by someone from the magical community who would take me to do my shopping for the coming year. Despite not going to school the previous year, Dumbledore was going to place me with the second year students. I looked around, trying to spot someone from the wizarding world who looked as if they were waiting for someone.

"Hello, Miss Black," I heard a prim and proper voice say from behind me. I turned to look at the owner of the voice. "My name is Minerva McGonagall." She looked so stern, with her black hair tucked beneath a hat and a dress that could have been the color of mold except the fabric added a shine to it. "Well, child. Are you ready?" I nodded my head, not wishing to say the wrong thing to this lady. "Come along." With a swirl of her skirt, she turned away from me and began to walk away at a brisk pace. I hurried behind her, hopelessly staying behind her. We exited the airport to find a car waiting for us. She opened the door to the drivers' side, then motioned for me to get in on the passenger side. "You may put your luggage in the boot," I held up the one bag that I had come with; a simple duffle that held what I had hoped would be everything that I would need for school. "Well, go on then." I nodded my head before moving to the trunk of the car and placing my lone bag there. I got into the car and sat in silence, taking quick glances at the woman behind the wheel.

"I remember your father. He was quite the troublemaker in school. Very gifted, but always looking to get into trouble," Ms. McGonagall broke the silence. "He was one of my favorite students, despite all this. It was troubling when I heard he had been accused of the Potters' murders. Such a shame. Such talent, gone to waste."

"My grandparents told me of his mistake. It was the only thing they would mention about him. Said he was a traitor and deserved to rot." Silence reigned in the car again. "What may I call you, ma'am?" I asked suddenly.

"Well, you may call me Professor, Miss Black. It is a title you shall soon have to get used to anyways."

"Yes, ma'am." Professor. How odd. In America, people only earned the title of Professor at the University and College level. I kept this question filed away for later, unsure of how to proceed. Professor McGonagall parked the car.

"Well, here we are, Diagon Ally. Have you got your list?"

"In my bag, ma'am."

"Well, go on and get it then."

"Yes, ma'am." I grabbed the list out of my bag, looking it over.

"Pay attention, Miss Black. I do not expect to escort you here every time. You simply must know how to get around in the Wizard World." She touched a brick in the wall, and it opened up to a whole new world. I looked around, mesmerized by everything I was seeing. There was a dragon!

"Ma'am! There's a dragon!"

"That is Gringotts, and our first stop. You will be able to withdraw money from your father's vault. Come along, Miss Black, we haven't got all day."

"Coming, Professor!" It was so very crowded. There were so many people wandering around, I soon lost sight of Professor McGonagall.

"Come along, boys! We need to find all your supplies, and soon! Fred? George? Oh where did they disappear to this time? Charlie! I told you to keep an eye on those two!" I saw a woman surrounded by several children walking through the streets.

"What are you doing over here?" I heard someone ask.

"She seems lost, Fred."

"I'm inclined to agree, George. What should we do about it?"

"How about you actually talk to me instead of talking about me, for starters." I demanded. Boy, these Britons sure seemed rude to me. Talk about not listening to stereotypes.

"Well, it seems she wants to talk to us, George."

"I gathered, Fred. Should we talk to her?"

"If you wanted to be polite, I would suggest it." I was starting to get annoyed by these two.

"American, I'd say, Fred."

"I agree, George."

"Wait, didn't you just call each other the opposite name?" I asked.

"So what if we did."

"What's it mean to you?"

"How am I supposed to learn your names otherwise? You seem like perfectly good guys, I would hate to think that it was all an act for your mother. I'm pretty sure that if I yell loud enough, she'll come running."

"No way, how do you know our mum?!" They cried out simultaneously.

"She just passed by here. I'm not completely daft, you know. She mentions you two specifically by name and then walks off. Then you two come up, mentioning each other's name with every sentence. It's not hard to figure out." They exchanged a look.

"What's your name?" They moved to either side of me.

"Cassie. Which one of you is which?"

"I'm Fred," the one to my right said.

"And I'm George."

"And you're our new friend." They said together.

"That is, of course-"

"You can remain friends with such-"

"Devishly handsome fellows-"

"Such as ourselves." They spoke in turn.

I looked at each other in turn before responding. "I think I can manage. Can you help me find Gringotts?" They exchanged a brief look before nodding.

"Just follow us, Cassie."

"We won't steer you wrong."

We did not end up in Gringotts. We ended up in an ice cream shop, laughing together. Fred and George spent the time telling me about the pranks that they pulled the past year.

"Well, Misters Weasleys. What a surprise to see you two here. I see you have met my charge for the day."

"Well, Minnie. What a pleasure to see you out and about." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Fred just called Professor McGonagall Minnie.

"Cassie is a delightful girl!" George said with delight.

"It has been our personal pleasure to meet her," Fred said, wrapping an arm around me.

"And to introduce her to the wonderful world of Wizarding England," George continued as he did the same thing.

"Meaning you were telling her about your pranks. Boys, I pray that you will not continue those pranks this next year." A stern look was given to each boy in turn.

"Now, Minnie," Fred began.

"It's Professor McGonagall to you, George."

"I'm George, he's Fred," George said.

"No, I'm George, he's Fred." And back and forth they went, arguing amongst themselves.

"Come along, Cassie. We need to get your supplies. Bid these boys good bye."

"See you on the train, Cassie," said George.

"We'll be sure to save you a seat," Fred said, with a grin plastered on his face.

"I look forward to it, Fred, George." I followed Professor McGonagall out of the shop.

"Come along, Miss Black. We have an appointment at Madame Malkin's to get you fitted for robes. And then we have to get your wand, your books, and all your potions supplies. Come along, we have very limited time."

"Yes, ma'am." I followed Professor McGonagall around the Alley, into several different shops. I became loaded down with supplies, but was excited to get my wand.

"Huh, a Vine wood wand, eleven inches, with a Phoenix feather at its core. A very rare combination indeed, Miss Black. Use it well, Miss Black. Use it well." I looked at the wand maker, confused by his words. How could I use the wand any other way? "And remember, Miss Black, the wand chooses the wizard."

"Ollivander, do not confuse the poor girl."

With a smile nod, and a few galleons given, we left the shop. I was glad to have a wand, the true mark of a witch.

"Miss Black, you will be staying in the Leaky Cauldron until tomorrow. Be at the platform before eleven in the morning. The train leaves promptly at eleven. Do not be late!"

"Yes, ma'am."

"I have taken the liberty to pack everything in this trunk. Here is your ticket for the train, and some extra money. Do not lose these, Miss Black."

"Yes, Professor. " I looked at the building known as the Leaky Cauldron, where I would be spending the night.

"And remember, no magic!" And with that, Professor McGonagall left me, the swirl of her skirts kicking up dust from the road.

I looked around Diagon Alley one last time before entering into the pub. Wizards surrounded the room. I walked up to the counter. "Excuse me, may I have a room for the night?" I asked the man with the hunchback behind the counter. He kind of scared me, but I knew that I had to be brave if I wanted a place to sleep for the night.

"You're the girl McGonagall was telling me about. I have a room right here set aside for you. Yep, right here. Already paid for and taken care of. Yep. Right here," He continued to babble on, talking about how I had a room.

"May I go to my room now, please?" I interrupted.

"Right you are, Miss. Yep. Just follow those stairs right there to the top floor. Your room will be the last door on the left."

"Thank you, sir." I left a few of the silver coins on the counter and began to make my way up the stairs, lugging the trunk that Professor McGonagall had gotten me. The trunk's bottom manages to hit each step, with a resounding thunk. I managed to make it to the top of the stairs after a long and laborious climb. Sweat was pouring down my face. And yes, I sweat. I don't "glisten" or whatever girls try to say they do instead of sweat. I made my way down the hall, dragging the trunk behind me. I was half tempted to leave it behind, but it held everything I needed for the upcoming school year. I opened the door to my room for the night and found it to be barely bigger than a closet, but at least it had a window that opened up to Diagon Alley. I could hear the people below. I looked around the cramped room before pulling out my school supply list again.

 **Students may also bring an Owl, a Cat, or a Toad.**

Hmm, well. It seems like I am allowed to have a pet on campus. And maybe I could find a cheap broom. After all, I was going to be allowed into second year classes. And my grandparents had allowed me to use a broom back home. It's not like I didn't know how to fly. With that in mind, I made my way downstairs. I left the crowded pub and inn, and made my way back to Diagon Alley. I made my way through the streets, looking at all the shops, when I spied someone who looked familiar walking into a store called Magical Menagerie. I followed them in, wanting to see if it was who I thought it was. "Professor Dumbledore?" I called out in question.

"Ah, Miss Black. What are you doing wandering around by yourself?"

"I was thinking about buying a pet sir, but I saw you and was wondering what you were doing here."

"Just picking up some items before the school year, Miss Black. Now, did you say that you wanted to buy a pet?" He looked at me inquiringly.

"Yes, sir. But I don't think I have enough money to buy one. Professor McGonagall only left me a little money for the train tomorrow."

"Well, come with me, child." He took me by the shoulder, his robes covering my back. "A quick stop by Gringott's should solve your money problems."

"So, Gringott's literally gives money to everyone? Doesn't seem like a very good bank," I scoffed.

Dumbledore gave a laugh. "No, Miss Black, you have an account there, your father's account. Normally, such accounts would be frozen by the Wizengamot, but due to your existence, it remained open for your use." I looked at the old wizard before me. The fact that he looked old told of how old he actually was, and how long wizards can live. "Yes, your father. He was a very special man. He wasn't always the best student, but he sure brought joy to the halls of Hogwarts. I do hope you will follow in his footsteps." I pondered upon what Dumbledore had said. It was odd to hear such good things about my father. My grandparents did nothing but curse his name, blaming him for my mother's death.

We entered into the bank, Dumbledore briskly walking up to one of the goblins sitting on a raised desk. Talk about overcompensating. "Hello, we would like to access Miss Black's vault, Vault 711."

"Do you have the key?" The goblin didn't even bother to look up from whatever was occupying his attention in his desk.

"But of course." He pulled a key out of his robes and placed it on the desk.

The goblin grabbed the key before instructing us to follow him. We followed the goblin through the vault doors seen and into a mine cart. The goblin ushered us into the cart before starting off. We wizzed through the bank, going deeper and deeper into it before the mine cart came to a crashing halt. If it weren't for the fact that Dumbledore had a hand on me, I fear I may have gone flying out of the cart. "Your vault, Miss Black," the goblin sneered at me. I got out of the cart on shaky legs, Dumbledore close behind. He touched the key to the door and the vault swung open, revealing a large vault filled with coins of silver and gold in color with a few bronze colored coins hidden amongst them. Dumbledore waited at the door as I entered in and grabbed a handful of the golden coins.

"Miss Black, might I suggest grabbing just a few more. You still have to get used to our monetary system," Dumbledore advised me. I nodded my head before grabbing a few more of the golden coins. I turned around, facing Dumbledore and the goblin. We got back into the mine cart and made our way back to the main floor of the bank. "Thank you for your time," Dumbledore told the goblin as he helped me out of the cart. The goblin gruffly nodded and ambled out of the vault and back to his desk.

We made our way out of the bank and headed to Eeylop's for me to purchase an owl, which had a more practical use in my mind then a cat or a toad, especially in a magical world that seemed to rely heavily on these animals. I looked around the shop at all the birds within the cages, trying to see if any particular one caught my eye. A barn owl hooted, drawing my attention to it. It seemed to look into my eyes and try to communicate with me. "How much for this owl, sir?" I asked the sales clerk.

"Why, that would be ten galleons, Miss," the young clerk informed me. I nodded my head as I withdrew the amount of coins from my little drawstring bag. I handed them to the clerk, who counted them then handed me the cage with my owl in it. I bought a few necessary items to help care for my new companion, which I named Celeste. We left the shop with me proudly carrying Celeste's cage, and made our way across the street to a shop called Quality Quidditch Supplies. Dumbledore seemed to know that I wished to purchase a broom and didn't seem to be stopping me. We entered the store and I was nearly overwhelmed with the interior of the shop. All around, golden snitch's flew around, begging to be chased, while bludger's hummed from their holdings.

"What can I do for you, Miss?"

"I'm looking for a broom," I said, stating the obvious.

"Right this way. We have a wonderful selection of brooms, both new and used, for your pleasure. Will you be playing Quidditch for your house team, Miss?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I would like a broom that could handle Quidditch games, nonetheless." He nodded his head.

"May I interest you in the Cleansweep Seven?" He handed me a broom, allowing me to inspect it. I nodded my head, pretending to be more knowledgeable about the broom handed to me.

"And how much is it?"

"Five Galleons and three Sickles, Miss."

"I'll take it." It sounded like a fair price after all. I looked over at Dumbledore and saw him nodding his head. "I'll also be requiring a service kit, if you sell those here." The clerk nodded his head as he went to fetch the kit. I moved to the front of the store, broom in hand and began to count out the money I knew I would need. The clerk returned with the kit in hand.

"That'll be five Galleons and sixteen Sickles, Miss."

I looked over to Dumbledore for help. He motioned for my drawstring bag and counted out the necessary money, pulling out a total of six gold coins before handing them over to the sales clerk, who gave Dumbledore a silver coin in return before handing me the kit.

"Have a good day, Miss!" He called out as we left the shop.

"Well, Miss Black, it seems you have everything you will need for this upcoming school year. Let's get you back to the Leaky Cauldron. And tell me, how do you find Britain?"

"Odd, sir. It will take some adjusting, but I am sure I will adjust quickly." Dumbledore nodded his head, slowing his walk.

"Remember, Miss Black, you are a British citizen. This was always meant to be your home."

"Yes, sir." We continued our slow stroll in relative silence. "Will I be able to meet my father, sir?" I asked suddenly. I had a few foggy memories of him, but I wanted to meet him.

"I would not recommend it child. By this time, he is more animal than man." And with that, Dumbledore turned on his heel and disappeared from sight. I continued on to the pub, tired and wishing to sleep for the night, so as to be prepared for the morning. I took all my new items upstairs and stowed the smaller items in my trunk, after giving Celeste a treat. I looked at the bed before begrudgingly laying on it and quickly falling asleep.


	3. Hogwarts, a Journey

I woke up bright and early the next morning, ready to make my way to the station. What I was unsure of was how I was going to get there. I gathered up all my belongings, struggling with my trunk, Celeste's cage, and my broom. How could I be expected to carry all this by myself? I heard a knock at the door. I cautiously opened the door and was surprised to see the woman from yesterday, the one with several kids and shocking red hair.

"Hello, dear. I'm Molly Weasley. Dumbledore reached out to me last night, stating that there was a Hogwarts student who would be needing help getting to the station."

"Well, hello, Mrs. Weasley. I believe that I met two of your boys yesterday in Diagon Alley."

"Really? Well, I hope that they were well behaved, Miss Jenson." I recognized my grandparents last name, and figured there was probably a good reason that Dumbledore told her it was that, instead of my given name of Black.

"They were, Mrs. Weasley, and please, call me Cass." I gave her a smile.

"Very well, Cass. Now, let's get your luggage downstairs." With a flick of her wand, my trunk and broom began to float. I grabbed Celeste and followed Mrs. Weasley down the stairs to a waiting taxi caravan. She added my luggage to the already packed cars (three taxi cabs!) and ushered me into one with three other boys already sitting there. I immediately recognized Fred and George as they sat there and figured that the other boy was one of their brothers.

"Cassie!" cried out Fred as he attempted to crush me in a hug. George repeated his greeting while trying to follow in his footsteps, figuratively. "What are you doing here?"

"Apparently hitching a ride with you to the station!" I couldn't hide my excitement at seeing the twins.

"Well, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend, George?" Asked the brother, calling Fred by his brother's name, not even looking up from his magazine. I stared in amazement as the pictures moved.

"Of course we are, Charlie. This is Cassie. Cassie, this is our older brother, Charlie." I stuck my hand out to shake his, but he didn't seem to notice, too enraptured by his magazine.

"He is seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team," Fred leaned over and told me.

"And the captain," George whispered conspiratorially.

"Mum's very proud. He also happens to be a Prefect," Fred put special emphasis on Charlie being a Prefect, almost like it was a horrid thing to be.

"So be careful what you say around him."

"Are they always like this?" I asked their older brother, Charlie.

"Just about." He didn't seem concerned about their behavior, and remained glued to his magazine.

"Well, look, dear brother!" Fred began, excitement pouring through.

"It seems to me as if we have arrived at the station!" George continued.

Charlie looked up from his magazine, gave a slight huff, and began to pack up his magazine. "Stay close by this time, please. You give mum a heart attack each time you disappear," he gave Fred and George a look individually before exiting the now non-moving cab. "Cassie," he said as he looked back into the cab, "stay close to me. Wouldn't do any good for you to get separated." He moved back to the trunk and began to unload it. I saw Mrs. Weasley doing the same at another cab with two younger children near her, and another Weasley unloading the last taxi cab, the one that seemed to be the most packed, with an older man standing nearby, looking in amazement at all the people at the station. I saw Mrs. Weasley stalk over to the older man. I couldn't make out what was being said, but I could tell that Mrs. Weasley wasn't exactly happy with him.

When Mrs. Weasley was done scolding the older man, she looked around, searching for something or someone. When she saw me, she began to call me over so I could be near my luggage while she went to get carts. I sat there, trying to keep Celeste calm because there were so many people. Mrs. Weasley soon returned with a few carts in hand. We loaded up the carts and began walking through the station. It was 10:45 in the morning and I recalled what Professor McGonagall had said. I hoped that we wouldn't be late.

"Okay, boys, Miss Jen- I mean Cass," she gave me a smile before continuing, "everyone through the barrier. Cass, you go with Charlie. He'll help you through the barrier. Alright, Percy, you go first!" She all but pushed Percy into a wall! I nearly gave a shriek until I saw him disappear through the wall, luggage cart and all! "Yes, yes. Alright, Charlie, you go next with Cass. Cass, I will get your luggage through the barrier. Off you go!" She spouted as she gently shoved me and Charlie to the barrier, Charlie's hand clasped around mine. I closed my eyes, too scared to see what was going to happen. When I opened them again, I saw a scarlet train in front of me, with the surrounding area completely crowded by people. I heard the scattering of feet behind me, along with the squeaking of wheels and knew that it was the rest of the Weasley family coming through the barrier. Charlie quickly moved me to one side as his family rushed through. I looked around for a clock and saw that it was five minutes until eleven! We had made it, even if it was barely! "Right, everyone on the train! Ron, Ginny, stay here with me, loves." She hugged each of her boys in turn, gave me a pat on the shoulder, and ushered us onto the train, luggage being handed to the boys in turn. Charlie managed to pick up both of our trunks and helped me put it in the compartment with the twins.

"No worries, Cassie. Stick with us, we'll make sure you arrive at Hogwarts."

"Too bad they didn't say what condition you would arrive in," a new voice said. I looked to the door of the compartment and saw a black boy that looked to be about the same age as the twins and me.

"Lee! You old bugger!" Cried out George as he leapt up and gave the boy a hug.

"How were your hols?" Fred asked, still sitting next to me.

"Hard, mate. Snape's essay nearly had me in tears." It was then that Lee seemed to really look at me. "And who is the beaut?"

"Cass Jenson, transfer student," I replied.

"Oh, an American. Think she knows any good pranks?" He asked as he nudged George in the ribs.

"Pranks, huh? That's what you want to talk about?" I asked, chuckling at the boys.

"Well, we are the school's resident pranksters. Of course we want to discuss pranks with the American school girl," Fred said, throwing an arm around me and drawing me in close.

"Well, I bet my pranks put yours to shame, especially since I couldn't use magic like you."

We spent to train ride discussing the pranks we had pulled in our schools, laughing at some of the ridiculous ideas we had had. I looked out the window a few times, watching as the countryside rushed by us.

"Don't the no-maj's see us?" I asked the boys at one point. Fred's arm was still around me, and I was too polite to ask him to move it.

"No-maj?" George asked me, giving me a funny look.

"You know, someone who doesn't have magic," I explained while looking at the confusion on their faces.

"Oh, you mean a Muggle!" Fred exclaimed.

"A Muggle? That sounds ridiculous," I replied.

"And no-maj doesn't sound ridiculous?" Lee inquired. We all gave a laugh. I looked out the window as the boys discussed something that didn't quite get my attention.

"Hey, Cassie!" George's voice broke through my thoughts. "We are almost there! You should get changed!" I looked at him before laughing.

"If I'm going to get changed, you are going to have to leave the compartment."

They let out a laugh then suddenly stopped. "Wait, you're serious?" George asked. Fred just looked at me, a confused but amused expression on his face.

"Deadly serious." I continued to look at the guys until they left the compartment. I quickly changed into my plain black robes and tied my tie around my neck, or, rather, I tried to. I have never had to tie a tie before. I tried for several minutes before giving up and letting the guys back into the compartment.

"I thought you said you were getting dressed," George said with a smirk on his face.

"I am dressed," I replied indignantly.

"Your tie isn't done properly," George teased.

"Well, unlike you Brits, we Americans don't wear ties constantly. How am I supposed to know how to tie one if I've never had to wear one," I replied hotly, anger taking over.

"Hey, no worries, Cassie," Fred cut in. "May I?" He gestured to my sloppy attempt before moving close as I gave a slight nod. He was slightly taller than me. His fingers moved quickly as he fixed my tie. "There, looks good, for now."

"Sorry about that, Cassie. We'll be sure to show you how to properly tie a tie later," George assured me while apologizing.

"I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have lost my temper. You have been nothing but nice to me, and I lost my temper."

"Well, to be fair," Lee cut in, "George was pushing pretty hard."

"Oi! Mate! Why you got to treat me that way?" They began to scuffle, well with their words at least, as Fred began to pull the trunks down, a sly smirk on his face. I knew that he had something planned, but I knew that I would have to wait until later to see it.

The train slowed to a stop, almost causing me to run into George. "Sorry, George," I mumbled as I righted myself.

"S'okay, Cassie," he stuck out a hand to steady me. I gratefully took it, tidying up my robes. I went to grab my trunk and Celeste, but they told me to leave it on the train, that it would be brought up for us. I followed the boys off the train, marveling at everything around me.

"Fi'rt 'ears, o'er 'ere," I heard a voice boom out. I looked for the source of the voice and saw a giant!

"That's Hagrid, he's the groundskeeper," Fred told me in a low whisper. I looked back at the man who was huddling the younger students together.

"Don't bother going over there, Cassie," George continued. "You're staying with us." And with that, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and escorted me to the other side, where more students were gathered. They chose a carriage with strange winged horses pulling it and sat down, after pulling me into the carriage with them. The carriage began to move, the boys laughing and joking around the entire time. I laughed with them, grateful to have two friends already.

We arrived at the castle very quickly. I had a hard time focusing on what all was going on because I was so focused on this strange looking castle. Lee ended up bumping into me after being pushed by one of the twins. I gave a laugh before he could apologize and joined in on their fun.

We walked through what I assumed was the main hall and were quickly gathered into the dining room, well, room is an understatement. It looked like one of those banquet halls that you see on the television. The boys quickly made their way to the table, where I saw the other Weasleys were and sat down. I moved to join them when Professor Dumbledore caught my eye and motioned for me to join him. I quickly made my way up to the head table and stood in front of the wizened wizard.

"Ah, Miss Black, I see you have made friends already. Good, good," he chuckled to himself. "Well, before you can be seated, you must be sorted, and we must wait for our first years to join us. If you will wait here, next to me, they will be here momentarily."

"Yes, Professor," I replied in what I hoped was an agreeable tone. I waited around, trying to ignore the stares being thrown my way from all around the hall. Suddenly, the doors opened up, with Professor McGonagall leading the way. I wouldn't say she was strutting, at least not to her face, but she had a very proud bearing about her. The first years behind her looked terrified; one even looked as if he was going to ruin his pants. I stifled a laugh and looked on in earnest. Fred and George caught my eye, making goofy faces just trying to get me to laugh.

Professor McGonagall disappeared from view real quick before returning with a stool and a raggedy ole brown hat that looked as if it would fall apart… well, with the drop of a hat. She deposited the items and the stood back. Silence descended upon the room as if everyone looked at the hat, enraptured. Suddenly, near the seam, it started to sing!

 _Though a hat I may be  
You'll make no fool of me  
Just set me on your head  
And you'll soon find a bed  
Mayhaps with Hufflepuff  
Where the Loyal reside  
Or with Gryffindor  
Where the Brave rise  
Ravenclaw may be for you  
Where the Clever find a home  
Or Slytherin  
Where the Ambitious come.  
So come and put me on  
I have not yet been wrong._

The hat fell silent. Everyone broke out into applause and looked at McGonagall. Professor Dumbledore began to speak, and I saw many faces display surprise. "Due to extenuating circumstances, we have a student who will be joining us as a second year this year. Miss Jenson will first be sorted, then we will have the new first year students be sorted, and then the feast. Now, Professor McGonagall, Miss Jenson, if you will," he motioned to the stool. Professor McGonagall lifted up the hat and waited for me to sit on the stool. I quickly sat down, feeling my cheeks burning. The hat was placed on my head, but quickly covered my eyes.

 _Hmm, a Black._ I jumped in surprise at hearing a voice speaking in my head. _It's been a while since your family came through. Oh! Not just any Black, but a child of the only Gryffindor Black. How interesting. Where to put you? You have your mother's intelligence, but your father's spirit. Hmm, I feel that the only place to put you is in_ "GRYFFINDOR!" I heard the voice shout aloud. Immense cheering broke out from the table where the boys were sitting. I looked down and saw my tie changing colors to match those of my new house mates. I saw an open seat near George and quickly went to sit down.

Silence fell on the hall as Professor McGonagall opened up the scroll in front of her and read off the first name "Belby, Marcus." A thin young boy who looked like he needed to eat walked up to the stool. The hat sat on his head for a brief minute before proclaiming the boy as a Ravenclaw. Before I could hear more about the Sortings, Fred leaned over from across the table.

"So, now that you are officially a Gryffindor, what say you help us with our pranks, especially since you have the American pranks that no one has ever heard of or done?" He said in a hushed whisper. George was nodding enthusiastically to my left.

"Well, seems to me like you could use all the help you can get," I said, showing my agreement. We heard the hat cry out GRYFFINDOR and gave a cheer. "So, the better question to ask is if you have anything planned for this evening?" I looked around, hoping that we didn't attract any attention with all our whispering.

"Well, we had something simple planned, but we had to improvise," George said sheepishly. I nodded then gave a jump as the table closest to us gave a rowdy shout as another student was ushered to them.

"Well, show me what you've got and I'll see what I can help with later on."

"Why not help us now?" Fred asked.

"Because I want to see what I have to work with," I replied as I saw Dumbledore stand up. I looked around and noticed the now bigger group surrounding us.

"Now, for a few words before we begin the feast: laughs, balderdash, gabbidygoosh." And with that, food appeared on the table. Everyone began to grab the food. I looked up and down the table, hoping to find something that appealed to my American appetite. Fred and George exchanged glances before filling my plate up.

"Go on-"

"Eat," they told me. I saw Charlie looking down the table at me. He mouthed something at me, but I couldn't read lips. I just nodded my head and tentatively began to eat. I liked what I ate well enough, but I knew it would take some time for me to adjust. Just as I was beginning to feel full, dessert type items. Once again, the twins filled my plate with different items.

"Not as good as the Trolley, but still great," they both informed me. I nodded my head, but left the food where it stood. I watched as everyone dug in, joy filling many faces. As everyone finished eating, Dumbledore stood up.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts, students, and a few announcements before we all head to bed. The Forbidden Forest is off limits to all students. Mr. Filch has posted a list outside of his office of all forbidden items. And now to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Shacklebolt. He has agreed to come teach for the year while we are looking for another teacher." Everyone began to applaud. I looked at the man that Dumbledore had motioned to and found him to be a serious looking man. I made a mental note to be careful around him. Everyone began to get up around me and head out of the hall. George and Fred took an arm each and began to escort me through the corridors.

"Stick with us, Cassie; we'll make sure you are running around here soon enough." I gave a laugh as the boys took off running, dragging me by the arms with them. I quickly became lost as we were running through the castle, noticing that we seemed to be heading upstairs. We arrived at a corridor full of portraits that seemed to be moving and laughing at us, much like the picture in Charlie's magazine from the end of the corridor stood a portrait of a fat lady, with Charlie waiting next to her.

"About time you showed up. McGonagall showed up earlier, said that Dumbledore wanted to see Cassie."

"Dumbledore?" I asked.

"Quickly, Miss Jensen," I heard McGonagall say from behind us. I turned around in surprise. Where had she come from? "Professor Dumbledore has been kept waiting long enough," she said as she turned around. I quickly began to follow her, not wanting to lose sight of her in this castle.


	4. A New Plan, A New Stage

We quickly arrived at a statue of a gargoyle. McGonagall muttered something that I couldn't hear and the gargoyle began to turn, showing a circular staircase. McGonagall began to climb up the stairs, not bothering to stop and see if I was following. I quickly climbed up the stairs, catching up to the Professor. We reached the top of the stairs and I saw an open door.

"Come in, Miss Black," I heard from the grandfatherly voice of Professor Dumbledore. I entered into the office, and Professor McGonagall left.

"Good evening, Professor."

"Good evening, Miss Black. I was just going to go over your schedule for the year. Since we are allowing you to start in your second year, we had to make a few adjustments to your schedule. You will be doing all of your second year classes with your peers. On Monday nights, you will be taking remedial potions with Professor Snape. On Tuesdays you will have Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall, on Wednesdays you will have Charms with Professor Flitwick, and on Thursdays you will have Defense Against the Dark Arts with me."

"With you, sir?"

"Yes, Miss Black, with me. I hope you aren't disappointed," he teased.

"No, sir. Honored."

"Good. Now, for the rest of the classes, you will have to read the books on your own and keep up. If you ever need help, do not hesitate to ask for it."

"Thank you, sir, for this opportunity." I couldn't believe that this was happening. Yes, I was going to be doing double the work, but Dumbledore trusted that I could do it. I did not want to let him down.

I left Dumbledore's office and attempted to find my way back to the Gryffindor Tower but quickly became lost. I felt like I was wondering around for hours. Finally, I saw someone else in the hall.

"Excuse me!" I called out. "I'm lost, can you help me?"

"Did you hear that? It sounded like a student," came the creaking response. I felt as if I was about to be in a lot of trouble, and began to look for a way out. "Let us go fetch them for punishment, my pet." Talk about creepy. I saw a hallway and quickly made my way down it. As soon as I passed by a corner, I took off running, wanting to put as much distance between myself and the creepy voice. I stopped running when I reach what looked like to be the main hallway. I leant against a wall, trying to catch my breath.I felt a chill come over me and began to look around. What I saw next truly terrified me. A ghost, as black as night with eyes that could bore into ones soul. He, for I was certain that when it had been alive it had been a he, gave out a gleeful laugh when he saw me, and pulled something out of thin air. He lobbed it at me. I quickly moved out of the way, and saw where I was standing previously to be covered in a red substance. He let out a moan, and then proceeded to pull out another one. I ran as quickly as I could, hoping to escape being covered in that red substance.

"Psst, Cassie!" I heard someone call out as I ran past. I stopped and looked behind me, then saw the now familiar shock of red hair of a Weasley. "This way, hurry!" He called out. I ran towards him and saw that it was George, and he was standing in a hallway that had previously escaped my attention. I followed him down the hallway, noticing how the light had disappeared from behind us. I looked back and saw that the entrance had disappeared.

"George, where are we?"

"In a secret passage. One of the many ones that cover the castle. Fred is here, too. Just further up ahead."

"George, did you find her?" I heard Fred call out from up ahead.

"Yes, Fred. Get over here!" I called out, wanting to see the other pair of the two boys who had fast become my friend. I winced in pain as I felt a foot trod over me.

"Sorry, Cassie."

"'T's fine, Fred. Where did the two of you come from, and how did you find me?" I inquired, shocked that they had managed to find me in the huge castle.

"We have a map," came the response from George.

"A map?" I asked in disbelief. "And how did a map tell you where I was?"

"It's magic, duh," Fred said sarcastically.

"Sarcasm is not your strong suit, Fred," I responded.

"Just show her the map, Fred. What's the harm?" They exchanged a look before Fred pulled something out of his pocket, unfolding it. I saw that it was a blank piece of parchment. Fred quickly pointed his wand towards it.

"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good," he said to the empty parchment. Only, it began to display writing on it, quickly showing the grounds of Hogwarts, with names appearing on the map, some in clusters some on their own. I saw one named Peeves, who was pacing out near the entrance of the passage.

"Where did you find this?" I asked incredulously.

"Nicked it from Filch's office, last year," came the proud response from George. Fred passed me the map and I began to examine it. Near the top, I saw the name "The Marauder's Map." Something rang familiar about the name in my memory, but I couldn't place it.

"This is how you found me?"

"We saw that you were about to run into Filch and decided to come rescue you."

"Then you ran into Peeves,"

"And we weren't sure how you would handle that."

"So it was a good thing we decided to come rescue you."

I looked at each of them as they were talking, and wrapped my arms around each of them. "Thank you," I whispered. They both blushed.

"Let's get back to the common room. You have homework you have to catch up on, sadly. And we want to spend tomorrow showing you around the castle, and to plan pranks," Fred informed me. I nodded my head and followed them as they consulted the map to get us back to Gryffindor Tower.

Once again, I found myself back in the corridor that ended with the portrait of the fat lady.

"Password," she drawled.

"Butter corn," Fred said shortly. Butter corn? What was that? The portrait opened up, showing me a room full of people talking. I could see fireplaces roaring, which I was grateful for. People were sprawled all around, chatting amongst themselves. A few looked at us as we entered, but most ignored us. I saw one person get up and begin to walk towards us and I recognized him as Charlie.

"Good, you made it back. I wasn't sure if Dumbledore sent anyone to help you. Curfew starts in about thirty minutes, so I wasn't too concerned. What did Dumbledore want to discuss with you?"

"Classes. He told me I would be taking some extra classes to catch me up with what I missed, along with the regular classes this year."

"Well, if you need any help, I will gladly help you, if I'm not busy studying for my N.E.W.T.S. And if I am busy, well, I'm sure these two would be glad to help you." He gave a stern look to Fred and George, who quickly agreed with him. "Now, did you have a chance to do your summer assignments?" I shook my head no. "Go get your books, I'll help you complete them. I'm sure we can get it all done tonight." He motioned to one of the staircases and looked around the room. "Angelina!" He called. A pretty girl about my age quickly came over. "Can you take Cass to your dorm room, please?" She nodded her head and began to walk over to the stairs. I quickly followed, realizing everyone's eyes were on me, despite them still talking to each other. We, Angelina and I, quickly made our way to a dormitory three landings from the top. She opened the door and motioned for me to enter.

"Looks like they added a bed for you over there," she pointed towards a bed that had my trunk sitting in front of it. I mumbled a thank you and headed over to where my trunk was. I opened it up and pulled out all the textbooks I had been required to get for the coming year. I lugged them downstairs to the common room where Charlie was waiting for me. He had managed to clear one of the only tables in the room and was waving me over to the only seat available. The other seats were filled by Fred and George.

"I was just talking to George," he motioned to Fred, who gave me a wink and a grin, "and he was telling me what essays you have to do. Transfiguration will be easy, potions you may struggle with, you don't have an assignment for DADA, Charms is examining why a charm of your choice was created, Herbology is focusing on the properties of the mandrake root, for astronomy you have to give the mythology of a constellation. Fred and George have offered to help you, and I'll be over on that couch if you need anything." With that, he left the table and moved over to a group of friends. I looked at the twins who were grinning like crazy.

"We should probably do your Potions essay first. Snape doesn't particularly like us Gryffindors, and he may resent you more because you are coming in and joining the second years without properly completing your first year. He is a very precocious man."

"Besides, you have to write about the properties of this potion," George tapped on a page that he had opened in my textbook. I looked over the potion and must have shown fear in my face.

"Not to worry, Cassie!" Fred cried out jovially.

"You can look over our essays. See what we had to say, and, we are here to help you," George reassured me. I nodded my head, looked at everything they had out, and began to read over their essays, hoping to get an understanding for what I was going to have to do.

I'm not sure how long we stayed up that night, trying to get through the many essays I had to do while the twins finished off theirs. I know that everyone else had left the common room long before I threw down my quill in frustration. Why they insisted on using such out-dated equipment, I will never understand. I looked balefully at all the rolls of parchment on the table and wanted to cry. This was insane! How could I be expected to do a summer's worth of homework in one day?

Fred began to gather up by textbooks and the rolls of parchment that I had written, placing them in a bag that I hadn't seen before. "Here, take this upstairs. We can work on the rest of these later, when you aren't as frustrated."

"Don't worry about not finishing them, Cassie. You don't know most of the materials." I had managed to complete my astronomy assignment with ease, thanks to my fascination with the constellations at a young age that had caused my grandparents to teach me all about them. I had found the information for the mandrake root in both my herbology text and the Potions text and had managed to hash out what I hoped would be an acceptable essay. For the charms essay, I looked over the list of charms that Fred had slipped me, selected one that only required a simple motion from my wand and one word, and began to write what I could over the charm, asking Fred and George for as much information as possible. When I had determined I had written as much as I could, I looked at the roll of parchment, wishing that it would be acceptable. The Transfiguration essay had completely baffled me. I determined that I would ask McGonagall for help when I could. I went up to my dorm room, dumping all the books and materials on my bed, then walked back down to the common room, rejoining Fred and George as they poured over a different piece of parchment.

"May I see the map?" I asked as politely as I could manage. George handed me the now blank parchment. I took it and pointed my wand towards it. "I swear that I am up to no good." The map began to show writing that it hadn't before. "Mr. Padfoot would like to tell Miss Padfoot to kindly put away the map. Mr. Prongs would like to add that Miss Padfoot should not be playing with such a map without her father. Mr. Mooney would like to add that Miss Padfoot should be in bed. Mr. Wormtail says that Miss Padfoot should butt out!" Padfoot? Miss Padfoot? The only reason I could think of me being called Miss Padfoot is because of my father. He went to Hogwarts, too. And I remember that Dumbledore had said that my father brought joy to Hogwarts. Maybe this was his map? I had so many questions.

The writing on the map began to disappear as Fred leaned over and said "You said the opening wrong. It's 'I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good.'"

"What are you looking for, Cassie?" George asked me, leaning over as well.

"The kitchens. I was hoping to be able to get some hot chocolate," I mentioned my favorite drink, knowing that I could use some comfort drink to help me calm down before heading to bed.

"Come on, we'll take you there." Each of them grabbed one of my hands and began to run out of the common room, turning down what seemed to be random corridors and running down staircases until we arrived at a portrait of fruits. George touched his wand to one of the fruits and began to rapidly move it back and forth, almost as if he was tickling it. A passage groaned open, revealing a bright room full of clattering and wonderful smells, even though it was the middle of the night. I took a deep whiff, savoring all the wonderful smells.

Suddenly, an odd creature appeared before me. I let out a scream, throwing my arms in front of me to protect myself and fell back into Fred, who managed to catch me, if barely. "What can Dippy be doing for you?"

"Three cups of hot chocolate, if you please, Dippy," George asked in a gentler voice than I had heard him use.

"Right away, sir!" Dippy, as he was called, disappeared from view. Fred and George started whispering while I looked around in amazement.

"Ya know, I thought we discussed this whole whispering thing back in the train?" I called out to them. They turned to look at me.

"Well, of course we did, but we were wanting to surprise you," George said before Fred continued.

"We're going to explore the forest tomorrow." We sat in silence, allowing me to process what they were suggesting, and in all honesty, it sounded like a lot of fun.

"Okay, I'm in." I could see the happiness in their eyes when I agreed to explore the forest with them. Dippy appeared again, holding a tray with three steaming cups of hot chocolate with cookies on the side.

"Dippy hopes missus will be happy with the hot chocolate."

"I'm sure I will be, Dippy, thank you." Fred, George, and I made our way back to the Gryffindor common room, enjoying our hot chocolate before it cooled. We managed to get back without running into anyone. We stayed in the common room, joking around and laughing until Charlie came stumbling down the stairs.

"Do you know what time it is?" He gasped out.

"Oh, good, you're here, Charlie. I am needing some help with this transfiguration essay. I don't understand the point of it."

"How are you even still awake?" He asked in disbelief.

"Body clock is still on American Time, Charlie. It's still early evening there," I explained. He shook his head before sitting down.

"Okay, let's see if we can get through all this." We sat there for a further two hours after I retrieved my stuff from upstairs. We managed to hash out an acceptable essay that ended with Charlie's face on the table and snores coming out of all the Weasleys. I packed up all my stuff and made my way back to the dorm room. I quickly changed into my pajamas, and snuggled into the four poster bed.

I looked around the room at my roommates for my time here at Hogwarts, taking in the environment that I hadn't explored. I allowed myself to think about what I was looking forward to at this school before focusing back on the map. It had called me Miss Padfoot, after mentioning Padfoot already. I knew that my father had some ridiculous nickname when he came to Hogwarts, and Professor McGonagall mentioned the Potters and my father were friends. In these past two days, I had learned more about my father than I had growing up with my grandparents. Even though I had told Fred and George I would go explore the forest with them, but I also determined that I would find out more about my father, no matter what it took.

With this plan in mind, I drew the curtains around my bed to a close, allowing the darkness to take hold and let myself explore the world of dreams. My last thought before sleep took hold was that I was so glad that I had come to Hogwarts. It felt like I had come home, even if it was a place that I had never been to before.


	5. Adventure Awaits Me

I woke up when the sun managed to shine through the curtains. I gave out a yawn as I stretched out my sore muscles. I quickly climbed out of bed and got dressed, anticipating the adventure planned for the day. I knew that I still had some homework to finish, but I was really looking forward to exploring with Fred and George, more specifically the so called Forbidden Forest.

I walked down the winding stairs to the common room, where I found Fred and George's older brother, Percy I believe, sitting in one of the armchairs, laughing with a group of fellow Gryffindors. On his lap lay a book, open to a page where I could see notes scribbled upon it. Before I could get a better glance, he saw me looking and quickly closed the book. I moved to the door of the tower and began to attempt to make my way back to the Great Hall for some breakfast. However, in the true spirit of Hogwarts, as I was quickly learning, the path to the Great Hall was not the same as it was last night. I found myself lost again, wishing I had the map that Fred and George had shown me.

As it were, I spent my morning wandering around the castle, observing what I could and making a map within my mind when I stumbled across Fred and George laughing most wickedly, their whispering voices carrying only enough for me to discern whom was talking.

"Again with the whispering," I teased as I walked up to them. "One would think that you two were planning something with all this whispering." I saw that they were bent over the map and knew that they had anticipated my arrival.

"Well, we were just planning the rescue of one wandering around the castle lost," Fred teased back.

"After all, we did promise them a trip to the Forbidden Forest, if she is still so inclined," George continued.

"Well, such an adventure was promised, and I was rather looking forward to it."

"Then we shall commence with our adventure!" Both boys grabbed me by the hand and began to run through the halls, laughing as boys are prone to do.

We quickly made our way out of the castle and walked as briskly as possible to the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, moving past a hut that seemed almost as ramshackle as it did homey. I wondered who loved there before confining myself with enough curiosity to explore the Forbidden Forest for today. That was to be my adventure.

"Well, here we are, the Forbidden Forest!" George ghouled.

"You know, they say it is supposedly haunted. I wouldn't mind verifying that little tidbit," Fred gazed intently at the forest.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" I began to move into the forest when a figure walked out of it.

"Good afternoon, Misters Weasley, Miss Jenson. I trust you weren't thinking about breaking one of the rules I did happen to mention yesterday at the feast?"

"What would give you that idea, sir?" I responded quickly. "Fred and George were showing me around the grounds. Said it was important for me to know my way around."

"And is there any particular reason that you felt the need to show Miss Jenson the Forbidden Forest?"

"She had no idea what it was," Fred began.

"And we figured it would be better for her to know where it was so she could better avoid it later."

"Alright, if that is the only reason. You may continue with your tour of the grounds. Oh, and remember, going into the Forbidden Forest will result in detention." Professor Dumbledore walked away upon finishing his statement. We exchanged looks and hurried away from the Forest, not wishing to press our luck for the day.

We made our way back to the castle to get some food, as it was past the typical lunch time frame and I hadn't eaten breakfast that day.

"Well, Cassie, looks like we didn't get to explore the Forest," Fred said before shoving a large bite into his mouth. I looked down at the soup I had selected and took a small swallow.

"There will always be other opportunities, Fred. Besides, I do have to finish that essay for Potions."

"Talk to Dumbledore. I'm sure he can help you."

"No, George. I will pass or fail based on my own merits, not anyone else's." They exchanged a look before going back to their food.

After we had finished eating, the boys helped me find my way back to the Common Room before going back outside to enjoy the day. I found the Common Room to be pleasantly empty, with the fireplace smouldering. I went and retrieved my school items before sitting on the floor at a table near the fire. England was much colder than what I was used to. My second day at Hogwarts was almost over and I still had two essays to complete. I got started on my potions essay, once again using both of my Herbology and Potions textbooks to write about the properties of the Ageing Potion. I was able to determine what it was meant to do based on the name alone, but I had to examine all properties of the potion, including the ingredients.

For over two hours I sat there working on the essay. I couldn't even begin to think about my Defense essay. People came and left the Common Room, not even bothering me. As time went on, a few of my fellow Gryffindors joined me in the Common, also surrounded by textbooks and a general air of muttering as people rushed to finish, and in some cases start, their summer assignments. I looked over what I had written once more before deciding that it would have to be good enough. I packed up the essay into the still mysterious bag that the boys had provided when they walked in, as loud and rambunctious as ever. I felt myself begin to smile as I looked upon the two boys who had accepted me. Then I felt guilt twisting in my stomach. They had accepted me as a friend, and I was hiding who I was from them. But, at the same time, I didn't want to tell them. I was too scared that they would choose to abandon me when they discovered that my father is Sirius Black, scourge of the wizarding world who was locked up in Azkaban, who I had no firm memories about. I quickly looked away, hoping that I hadn't caught their attention. Luck was not with me as they quickly brought themselves, and their noise, to my cozy table where I had just pulled out the Defense textbook.

"You missed dinner," George said as he took a seat to my right. He took the quill out of my hand as I looked at the watch on my wrist. It had been three hours since I had last checked it. Dinner had long since passed, but I hadn't noticed. I wasn't hungry, but, rather, nervous about the day that was coming in a few short hours.

"Dumbledore came by and said that he wanted to talk to you before you went to bed tonight," Fred informed me as he grabbed my bag and pulled out the essay I had just finished.

"Then, I guess I shouldn't keep Professor Dumbledore waiting." I stood up, grabbing my bag, essay, and quill from where they were, respectively. Lee had just come to join our little group as both boys stood up to join me.

"Where are you blokes headed? We just got back!"

"Cassie needs to see Dumbledore."

"We're going to take her to his office."

"You are free to join us."

Lee's head flashed back and forth as both boys were talking and continuing each other's sentences until they had completed the thought.

"I think I'll pass. Have to start my potions essay. Snape will kill anyone who doesn't have it ready to be turned in. Except for his precious snakes that is." I could hear the contempt in his voice as he left the table and began to make his trek upstairs., feet dragging against the floor as he took in everything that he had left to do. I exchanged a look with the boys and walked to the entrance of the tower, ready to make my way to Dumbledore's office. The boys closed the painting behind us and we began to take the walk to Dumbledore's office.

"You know, if you want to keep from making this journey every week until I know my way around, you can give me the map." I saw them stop and look at each other before quickly catching up to me.

"There's no point in doing that, Cassie."

"Yeah, we really don't mind helping you find your way around."

"Besides, its just a map. You can't talk with it."

We continued on in silence until we reached the entrance to Dumbledore's office. I looked at the boys who both looked back.

"Right!" Fred said suddenly. "We'll be back in a bit after you come out!" He grabbed his brother's arm and left quickly. Before I could even attempt to figure out how to get into Dumbledore's office, the man that Professor Dumbledore had indicated as being Professor Shacklebolt walked to where I was standing.

"Ah, good evening, Miss…?" He paused waiting for my name, his out stretched hand indicating that he expected a handshake.

"Jenson. Cass Jenson. It is a pleasure to meet you, Professor," I replied as I shook the proffered hand.

"Miss Jenson. The pleasure is all mine. What are you doing out and about this evening?"

"Professor Dumbledore indicated that he wished to see me, but I have no idea how to get into his office."

"Well, I do believe that I can be of service there. I was just on my way to see him myself."

"That's okay, Professor. I can always come back later," I turned to leave when I felt his hand land on my shoulder.

"Nonsense. There is no reason why you should have to go back to your dorm. After all, you do have a curfew. Now, let's go in. Chocolate Frogs!" He declared. Once again, the gargoyle began to turn in place as a set of stairs was revealed. Professor Shacklebolt escorted me up the stairs and knocked at the door before us. We heard Professor Dumbledore bid us to come in. The door opened, showing us Dumbledore sitting behind his desk, a large reddish bird nearby, humming a beautiful song.

"You hear Fawkes singing, do you Miss Black?" I saw the Professor standing next to me give a startled jump at the mention of my surname.

"Yes, sir. Why is that?"

"He seems to like you. Only a favored few will hear a phoenix's song."

"How can he like me? I've never seen him before, sir."

"Ah, but you have. That is a story for another day, however. Kingsley, it is well timed that you came when Miss Black did."

"She told me her name was Jenson, Albus."

'Yes, yes," Professor Dumbledore waved off Professor Shacklebolt's statement. "A necessary precaution to protect her. Miss Black here is the sole daughter, and sole heir, of Sirius Black, whom I am sure that you remember."

"How could I forget him? He was He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's right hand man. He lead to the deaths of the Potters by betraying them, his own friends, and left their child as an orphan."

"You're wrong!" I blurted out. "My father would never betray people!"

"Miss Black, that is another discussion for another time. Kingsley, please." Professor Shacklebolt quickly shut his mouth before he could say what was next on his mind. "Now, I requested you both here tonight so we could begin to go over some of the basics of Defense Against the Dark Arts for Miss Black's sake."

We sat there, discussing majority of what I had missed the previous year, ending with Professor Shacklebolt telling me that I was excused from the summer assignment and that he looked forward to seeing what I could do in class later that year.

I left Professor Dumbledore's office, with five minutes to curfew, to find to my pleasant surprise that Fred and George were waiting for me.

We walked back to the Tower with no discussion amongst ourselves, just companionable silence. When we had reached the tower, we found it near empty, our fellow Gryffindors either having completed their not quite finished assignments, or giving up in its entirety to go to bed.

"Have you ever played chess, Cassie?"

"Several times. It is my Grandfather's favorite past-time. He taught me how to play when I was young. Why?"

"We were hoping you would like to play wizards chess."

"From what our father tells us, it is quite similar to Muggle chess."

They took turns explaining how to play Wizards chess to me while demonstrating using their own pieces. I looked on enraptured by the fact that they could interact with their pieces while trying not to get distracted with the exhaustion that threatened to over take me. It seemed as if my internal body clock was finally catching up with the local time. I looked down at my watch yet again and saw that it was already one in the morning!

"Fred, George! Is Cassie down here, too?" We all gave a jump as we heard Charlie's voice echo down the stairs, his footsteps growing louder and he drew closer. "What are you doing still up? Classes start tomorrow, and you know how Mum would react if you managed to miss your first day of classes. And Cassie, you have no excuse either, internal body clock or not. I sincerely hope you finished you Defense essay instead of playing Chess with these jokers." It took all my will power not to laugh. I knew that Charlie was a prefect, and therefore in charge of students, but he was acting like a parent.

"Charlie, relax. I was just about to tell these two 'jokers' as you put it, that it was time to go to bed. Now, good night boys," I gave a sarcastic bow to Charlie before making my way upstairs, where I soon found all my roommates to be sound asleep. I grab my shower items and quickly made my way to the bathroom, taking a quick shower and preparing myself for bed before walking back to the room. Despite all the noise that I am sure that I made, my roommates were still asleep. I went to my bed, drawing the curtains before allowing myself to lay down.

Sleep did not come easily, however. My mind decided to focus on what Professor Shacklebolt had said in Professor Dumbledore's office. My father, who I knew had been in Azkaban for causing the murders of people, had supposedly betrayed his friends and caused a child to be orphaned nine years ago. I refused to believe it. While I didn't have many solid memories of my father, what I did remember of him was laughter, and love. How could a man, whom I knew loved me, betrayed his friends? It didn't make any sense to me. I refused to believe that my father had caused those deaths, and I determined that I would ask Dumbledore what exactly was supposed to have happened, and again request to see my father.

When sleep finally did come, it was plagued with dreams full of black dogs, a deer, another dog, and the map. They seemed to be running around, playing almost. When they noticed me, it was almost as if they were requesting me to come and join them. I looked down and saw, or rather didn't see, my feet. Well, paws now. I looked back up to the animals, then ran out to join them. Slowly, the dream faded away, leaving only a nightmare instead. The black dog was there again, growling very loudly. I was cowered beneath it as a giant snake made its way through the grass towards us. As it drew closer, the dog growled louder and louder. I moved further and further back, not wanting to be anywhere near the snake. A green light flashed, and the deer came back into sight, collapsed on the ground, its eyes open and unseeing. I heard another growl and saw the other dog next to the big black dog. Another flash of green light and another deer, a doe this time, fell next to the stag. I heard a baby's cry, causing the snake to begin to focus on it. The two dogs leapt after the snake, but seemed to be pushed back by something unseen. A rat appeared from where the snake had been, trying to sneak past the two dogs, not even bothering to focus on the two dead deer next to me. I let out a small growl, surprising myself and the rat. The big black dog turned around upon hearing my growl and launched itself at the rat. It chased the rat until it caught it, the snake having disappeared completely.

I woke in a cold sweat, panting as details of the dream were slowly but surely forgotten. I made my way downstairs to the common room, a blanket clutched in my hand, dragging on the stone floor behind me. When I arrived downstairs, the common room was completely deserted, and the fire place was roaring. I quickly moved to the chair closest to th fire, wrapping the blanket around me as I snuggled further into the chair, hoping that the comfort of the flames would allow me to quickly fall asleep.

After another hour of watching the flames, I felt my eyes get heavy, as sleep finally found its way into my mind and overtook all thought processes. I wrapped the blanket further around me, tucking it under my chin, and finally drifted off, with only a few hours before classes started.


	6. This is Day One, Here Goes the Drums

I woke up to the clamoring of steps as people began to wake up and head down to the Common Room. I felt someone prodding at my cheek, but turned away, not quite ready to get up after the long night I had just had. "Cassie," came a sing-song voice, "if you don't wake up soon, I'm going to throw Dung Bombs into your school bag and effectively ruin everything in there." I moved my hand out from underneath the blanket, a fist already formed and headed to where the voice was coming from and soon made contact with a face. "Jeez!" I cracked open an eye and saw that I had just socked George, hard enough to at the very least give him a bruise later on. I mumbled an apology before stretching, allowing the blanket to fall around my waist, my arms reaching to the ceiling and finding another face to smack into.

"What is the deal with you?!" I nearly yelled out, but managed to remain semi-quiet. "Why can't a girl get some sleep around here?"

"Cassie, when did you start sleeping down here?"

"Got cold in the dorm room, came down here where the fire was still going strong." I looked at the faces that the boys were giving me.

"You know, Cassie, you say the weirdest things sometimes," Fred said, but with an appreciative glint in his eye.

"But it seemed to have given you an idea, I'm hoping one where I can see you so-called legendary pranking skills."

"So called?" I could hear the dismay in their voices as they took offense to my comment.

"Well, I haven't seen any proof of these abilities that you love to talk about. I think that it's time for you to prove these abilities, by the end of the week."

"What exactly are you suggesting, Cassie?"

"I'm suggesting a prank war. Best prank wins, as done by the individual. But if you think that you can't do this well we'll just see what happens. So, are you in?" I could see the interest in their eyes, a form is silent communication occurring amongst themselves before they grinned and turned back to me.

"You're on!" They cried out in unison. I nodded my head before heading upstairs to get dressed in my school robes.

"Hurry, Cassie! We need to eat breakfast, and that's where we are going to receive our class schedules," Fred informed me. I saw George violently nodding his head.

"Alright, boys, I won't be long at all," I swept upstairs and into the dorm, quickly throwing my blanket onto my bed before grabbing my toiletries out of my duffle that was stuffed in my trunk, one of my robes, and some comfortable clothes that would be hidden by the robes, fully self-conscious by the fact that this would be my first day of classes while the rest of my classmates had an entire year already under their belts and knew what to expect. Then again, I could have been thrown into the deep end and told to figure out how to swim myself, but I had Fred, George, and Charlie who seemed to have taken me under their wings, along with Dumbledore who has seemed to take a full interest in my education, which could make me laugh. If he cared so much about my magical education, he would have come and retrieved me last year instead of waiting an entire year so that now I was drastically behind and no better than a first year.

I finished getting ready and headed back downstairs, where I saw the twins head to head, discussing something in hushed whispers. "You know, boys, this competition is meant to be done as individuals, but we can discuss that more at breakfast."

I made my way out of the tower, the boys following closely on my heels before quickly catching up to me, showing me the way to the Great Hall where breakfast would be waiting for us, along with our Head of House, ready to pass out schedules and advice. We reached the Great Hall, ad saw that we were some of the first students down there, which meant that we weren't going to have to fight over the platters of food weighing down the table. I saw someone, head bent over the table, seated at the Gryffindor table that had the same shock of red hair as the Weasleys, meaning that it was most likely Percy Weasley. I wondered briefly why he had his head bent low when the twins grabbed both of my arms, leading me over to the empty seats around Percy.

"Studying already, Percy?" George asked in a highly mocking voice as he took the seat directly across from his older brother. Fred had released my arm when we got closer to the table and sat directly next to Percy, motioning with his head for me to sit across the way. I quietly took my seat and began to put food on my plate, specifically bacon and eggs. I began to eat as Fred and George began to mercilessly tease their older brother until he finally stormed off, the laughter following him as he moved further down the table, The boys turned to face me, their laughter dying down as they looked at my incredibly sleepy face threatening at any minute to drop into my emptying plate.

"Cassie, wake up," George said as he gently shook me back into a semi-alert state of being. "You were going to tell us more about this pranking competition that you have planned," he began to place food onto his plate. I looked over at Fred and saw that he had already filled his plate with heaps of food.

"Right!" I shook my head, clearing the last of the sleep cobwebs, then leant close into the boys. "Okay, here's the deal. This is between us. You two can't help each other, period. We also can't pull the pranks on each other, wouldn't be fair."

"You sound as if you have done this before."

"A few times," I replied nonchalantly. No use in revealing all my secrets. "Anyways, pranks can't be pulled during classes, but they can be done in classrooms. Try not to do any permanent damage."

"And how will we determine who wins?"

"Simple," I gave a small shrug of my shoulders, "we score each other, based on whatever criteria we choose." I looked at the boys, noticing their nods of agreement.

"And how long will this last?" Fred asked, a sudden intensity filtering in his eyes. I heard footsteps rapidly approaching from behind us. I quickly went back to eating, hoping that I looked as innocent as possible, which was really hard since I was sitting with the Weasley Twins, who couldn't look anything but mischievous; no matter how hard they tried.

"Well, Misters Weasley, Miss Jenson. I see you are early risers. Here are your schedules for the year. Please, do not blow up any more classrooms." Before I could fully process what was happening, a piece of parchment was handed to me and McGonagall was already walking away. I watched as she approached the Head Table, quickly sitting down and filling her plate with food.

"Ugh," I heard Fred grunt. "We have History of Magic first thing in the morning. That'll be a snooze fest." George gave a bark of a laugh before studying the schedule again. I looked at the parchment in my hands, taking note of the classes of the day, and mentally adding the extra lessons that Dumbledore wanted me to do. It didn't look too busy, plus I didn't have too much to do for the most part. Plenty of time to do homework still be able relax, and plan the perfect pranks to win this competition. I heard the increased noise level and saw that more students had finally joined us in the Great Hall. I looked around, seeing that the Professors were beginning to distribute schedules to their House, respectively. I heard the rustling of feathers and saw at least a hundred bats swoop into the Great Hall, panic briefly setting in until I noticed Celeste was amongst them. She swooped down and landed near me, pecking lovingly at me hands to get my attention. I saw a letter tied around her leg and quickly untied it, giving her a small piece of bacon off my plate. I opened the letter, my eyes quickly scanning over what was written.

 _Miss Black,_ (I took note that they used my actual surname, an oddity at this point)

 _I expect to see you in my office at seven tonight for your Remedial Potions lesson, as directed by Headmaster Dumbledore._

 _Professor Snape_

"Black?" George's voice broke through my thoughts. "I thought your last name is Jenson?" I could see the confusion in George's face. Despite what Dumbledore wanted, it seemed time to tell these two the truth about my family. I gave them a look then motioned for them to follow me out of the hall. It was bad enough that I was going to tell them, I didn't want the entire hall to hear what I had to say. Fred grabbed my arm as soon as we left the hall and took me to an abandoned corridor.

"Ok, spill," Fred all but demanded.

"My dad is Sirius Black." Yep. No preamble or anything. Just put it out in the open.

"The mass murderer that our mum uses to scare us into behaving?"

"Doesn't seem to work that well," I teased. "But, yeah, the alleged mass murderer. He's my dad."

"Then how come you don't have his last name?" George asked, genuinely wanting to know.

"I do. But, Professor Dumbledore made the decision for me that I would go by my mom's last name, hoping to keep me from the ridicule from other students."

"And you just agreed?" Fred asked incredulously.

"It's not like I could say no. He's the headmaster." They exchanged a look they I couldn't read. "Well. Now that you know, I'll take my leave. Sorry for everything." I began to walk back out to the main corridor, hoping to be able to find my way to the History of Magic classroom without getting too lost. I was too lost in the thought process that I just lost the only friends I had at this school. I could feel my eyes tearing up and I resisted the urge to wipe away the tears that hadn't even fallen yet. I felt someone grab my arm and spin me around, wrapping me in a bone crunching hug. The tears began to fall of their own accord. I heard a door open, and I was dragged towards it.

"Shh, Cassie. There's nothing to cry about," Fred cooed as another pair of arms wrapped around me. My guess was that George joined the hug.

"Why did you apologize? You can't control who your parents are, any more than we can control the fact that Percy is our brother. Besides, you're our friend, and we have a competition going," Fred grasped my shoulders and moved me out to where I could look at both boys at once. I nodded my head, wiping away the rest of the tears and followed them to our class, noting the students with black and yellow on their robes.

"What House is that?" I whispered to George as we took our seats in the classroom.

"Hufflepuff."

"What the crap is a Hufflepuff?" I asked to the immense amusement of the twins.

"From what I've heard, they are particularly good finders," Fred managed to get out between chortles. I began to laugh with the twins, ignoring all the stares we were getting.

I could see why Fred and George despised History of Magic. It was utterly boring. The professor, a ghost whose biggest excitement was floating through the chalk board, was utterly monotone. I resisted the urge to bang my head against the desk and continue taking notes. George soon fell asleep, while Fred was scribbling on a piece of parchment that certainly wasn't notes. I figure he was doing some planning for his prank, and decided to just let him. By the time we managed to finally escape from the class, I was about ready to keel over. We quickly made our way back to the common room to drop off our History of Magic items and pick up what we needed for Potions. I was not looking forward to this class, at all. If he didn't care enough to follow Dumbledore's decision for me to go by Jenson in his letter, would he be bothered to do so in class? Nerves were causing my hands to shake as we made our way down, down, down, all the way to the dungeons, where I immediately started to shiver from the cold. Stupid Britain and its cold weather. George took notice of my shivering and wrapped me in a hug.

We were waiting outside with another group with green and silver covering their robes. They looked over at us and began to preen, making it quite obvious that they thought of themselves as better than the rest of us.

"Look at the pathetic, little Gryffindor, quaking with fear," one called out, sneering at me. "Guess that should have been expected. She's just a first year, after all."

"You watch your mouth, snake!" Fred cried out, jumping to my defense. I could see that lines were quickly being drawn amongst the two houses, and moved to attempt to resolve them when the door to the classroom opened up with a creak and a sudden slam. Everyone filed in, the other house still muttering and shooting me glances, making their distaste quite obvious.

"Stop dwaddling, please," a voice cut through the whispers that sent fear into my heart. I looked up, and saw a man dressed in all black, no, not dressed, shrouded. His hair, his robes, everything about him screamed dark. "As you may have noticed, we have a new student joining us. However, we will not slow down or go back to accommodate her, as that would be a waste of time. Open up your books to the page containing the sleeping draught potion. Today, you will begin brewing, and you will finish tomorrow." He gave me a pointed look before heading to his desk. Everyone began to immediately take out their cauldrons and brew the potion, looking at their books constantly to make sure they were doing it right. I attempted to follow suit, looking at the ingredient list. I was going to need Lavender, standard ingredient, Flobberworm Mucus, and Valerian sprigs for the potion. I quickly gathered all these and began to brew the potion in accordance to the instructions listed. I was only able to get to heating the mixture of Flobberworm Mucus and Standard Ingredient when class time ran out. Snape walked around the classroom, making notes of where everyone was at when it came to the potion. I could tell that I was behind everyone else. I was concerned about this until Snape motioned for me to put my cauldron with the rest of the cauldrons that hadn't already been emptied by the professor. I packed up the rest of the materials, preparing to leave the classroom when Snape called for me to stay behind. The twins gave me a look of pity before heading outside, where I was hoping that they were waiting for me.

"Yes, Professor?" I asked when I had approached his desk.

"I trust you received my note this morning."

"Yes, sir. I will be here at seven, like you asked me to be."

"Good. Now, before we discuss what we will be doing tonight, I wanted to talk to you about your father."

"My father, sir?"

"Yes, Sirius Black. I trust you will not be following in his footsteps during your career here. You've already shown a proficiency in Potions, despite being a year behind everyone else." This was high praise indeed. "Why is that? Was one of those Weasleys helping you when I wasn't looking?" His gaze turned hard.

"No, sir," I said shortly.

"Then how did you manage? Cheating is intolerable in this classroom and will result in detention or expulsion."

"I did not cheat, sir! I have no reason to cheat." He stared at me, and I stared at him in return, a battle of wills taking place. He looked away and began to mess with my cauldron.

"When you come back by tonight, you will be brewing this potion again, where I can make sure that you are doing all of your own brewing. Now, leave." He began to stalk off when I stopped him.

"My mother would have been disappointed if I had cheated in Potions, sir. My grandparents told me that she always excelled at this class, behind yourself and another girl named Lily Evans."

"And who was your mother?"

"Susan Jenson, a half-blood, sir," I replied as I drew myself up to my full height, not like it mattered much in comparison to the Professor, but I needed to show the pride in my family, even in my father. I saw the look of recognition flash in his eyes and knew that I had made an impact. I walked out of the room without another word and ran into the boys a short way down the corridor. We quickly ran upstairs to the Common Room, where I promptly went upstairs and fell asleep. I had some time before dinner, with classes being extremely light at this time and decided that sleep would be a good idea, even though taking a nap is not a good idea for jet lag. I also didn't want to deal with the fact that Fred and George knew about my father. I could tell that it scared them, and even though they said that they didn't care, something about it was bugging them.

My father was a well known criminal in the wizarding world, and even though I was ashamed by him, I was also proud of him. I didn't believe what people had been saying about him. How could a man who allegedly killed Muggles have a child with a half-blood wizard and willingly follow He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. These were the thoughts as I drifted off to sleep.


	7. What's Adventure Without a Little Pain?

I woke up when my dorm mates entered into the room, talking as loudly as they could, allowing me the chance to wake up fully before I threw open the curtains surrounding my bed. The talking stopped immediately.

"What happened to your hair?" One of the girls asked in full fear.

"I slept. What else would cause my hair to be a mess?" I asked as I moved a hand up to see the damage done by my nap.

"We thought you had been jinxed by some Slytherins or something."

"No, just needed a nap. Still getting used to the time difference here." I heard a trilling of laughter and knew that I wouldn't be making friends here anytime soon. I looked over at my watch and saw that it was almost six o'clock. I knew I would have to hurry and eat if I was going to make it in time for my lesson with Snape. I rushed a brush through my hair and hurried out of the room, down the stairs, and out of the portrait. I took the same route as this morning to head to the Great Hall and quickly made my way to there, thankfully not running into anyone in my mad dash.

When I made it to the Great Hall, I saw Fred and George seated next to Lee Jordan and made my way to sit next to them. As soon as I sat down, I immediately began to fill my plate, enjoying all the delectable smells emanating from the many dishes still crowding the table.

"Get a good nap, Sleeping Beauty?" The twins asked me.

"Wonderful, thank you for asking," came my obviously sarcastic reply. I began to eat as quickly as possible while still savoring the enjoyable taste of the well prepared food. I could overhear pieces of conversations from around the hall and was pleased that I didn't hear my name in any of them. I smirked once again, knowing that I hadn't been betrayed. Fred gave me a curious look before smiling at me, sure that I was planning something for later when I was really just interested in finishing my dinner quickly so as not to be late to my session with Snape. I was already dreading the lesson, and hoped that Snape would not be as horrid as he was in class, but knew that my luck was slim to none on that factor. I could feel my stomach tying up in knots, and settled it down to nerves, not allowing myself to dwell on what I was about to be walking into.

I finished eating quickly, looking down at my watch and took note of the time. It was a quarter to seven, meaning it was time to make my way down to the dungeons and to Snape's office. I nodded towards Fred and George, saying good-bye quickly and made my way out of the Great Hall. I heard footsteps behind me and quickly hid behind a corner. I looked around and saw that it was just Fred and George, looking at the map.

"Cassie, come on out," Fred whispered. I walked out from behind the corner, and was immediately welcomed with grins.

"We thought it would be a good idea to give you the map while you are still adjusting to Hogwarts," George informed me.

"After all, we won't need it during the day, and we won't always be around to help you through the corridors."

"So we thought we could give it to you."

I looked at them as they handed me the map, a smile quickly forming despite my earlier qualms about telling them about my heritage. They still seemed to accept me, which came to be quite a relief. "I thought you said that I wouldn't need it, since you wouldn't mind guiding me around the castle until I have gotten used to it?"

"We changed our minds," George informed me, his smile saying there was something he was hiding. I put that information away for later.

I accepted the map before quickly giving them both a hug. I looked at my watch and saw that I had seven minutes to get to Snape's office. I rushed off, watching the map to ensure that I made it to Snape's office quickly.

When I walked in, he looked up from his desk, where he seemed to be grading papers. "Nice of you to show up, Miss Black," he stated as he stood up from his desk and moved around it. Only, he didn't stop there, he kept moving and walked right out the door, not even bothering to stop and see if I was behind him. I made to follow him, hoping that tonight wouldn't go too badly.

"Professor, what all will we be doing tonight, if I may ask?"

"You may not, but since you have already asked, I might as well tell you. You will be brewing two potions tonight. Draught of Living Death and you will be continuing the brewing of your Sleeping Draught from class today, in hopes that you will actually learn something."

"Why don't you like me, Professor?" I asked, well, more like demanded.

"You are the daughter of Sirius Black. That is enough of a reason for me to dislike you."

"So, you would dislike a student without any prior knowledge of them except for their parentage?"

"Your parentage matters, Miss Black. My parentage matters, everyone's parentage matters. We all grow up; most of us grow up to be like our parents. Just pray you turn out like your mother and not your father."

"And what's so bad about my father?" He glared at me, signaling that it was time for silence.

"If you ask another question not related to potion making, I will give you detention for a month." I grudgingly nodded my head. "Good, now, to brew the Draught of Living Death…"

I opened my book and began to read the instructions, while Snape loomed over my shoulder, correcting every little detail that I messed up on.

"Miss Black, if you are not careful, you will blow up this office," he drolled. It took all of my power not to glare at him. I continued on with the task at hand, taking caution not to mumble under my breath at him.

I ended up staying there for another two hours. Curfew was fast approaching, but Snape seemed to be content to continue lecturing. "Professor, curfew is approaching soon," I said, interrupting his thought process.

"Right, off you go, Miss Black. You're first night has been, well. You seen to grasp a basic understanding of Potions, which I hope we can improve enough for you to pass my class." I nodded my head before exiting the room. As soon as the door had closed, I took out the map and quickly made my way to the common room. On my way there, I ran into, of all people, Professor Dumbledore.

"Ah, Miss Jenson, just the person I was looking for. If you will come with me," his tone brokered no room for protest. I quickly made to follow him, not wanting to anger the only person who seemed content on keeping my father a secret. "Well, Miss Jenson, what did you think about your first day at Hogwarts?"

"Rather tiring, to be honest sir. I still haven't adjusted to the time difference yet, I am afraid."

"Yes, I figured that would give you some issues. How was your lesson with Snape?"

"He seems to dislike me, sir, or at least dislike my father enough to dislike me."

"Ah, yes. Your father and Professor Snape did not get along, I am afraid to say." We continued our walk, silence overtaking us. Professor Dumbledore seemed to be slowing down, causing me to slow down with him. "Your father, James Potter, and Professor Snape were all boys here at Hogwarts. And as such, they disagreed with each other constantly. Made life difficult for your mother, it did, but that is to be expected."

"Why's that?"

"Well, your mother and Professor Snape were the two best Potion brewers at Hogwarts, with another Muggleborn student coming in close behind them. They were forever trying to outdo each other, until they finally decided that it might be best for them to team up. It showed inner-house cooperation between Ravenclaw and Slytherin, much to the joy of the other professors. Many speculated that they would marry each other, which is why it came to such a surprise for the rest of us when your father started to date her. Many voiced concerns that he was simply dating her for help with assignments, but I found his feelings for her to be quite obvious."

"Professor, do you really think that my father killed all those people?" I asked suddenly, not wishing to hear more about a rivalry between my professor and my father, instead wanting to hear about the man that everyone seemed to curse with every breath in their body. I knew that there had to be some good in him, especially if what Professor Dumbledore said was true. The image painted to me by everyone I had talked to that knew my father in his youth did not match the picture that everyone else had painted involving his supposed Death Eater activities.

Dumbledore paused before answering. "There is nothing I can say to that, dear girl," before I could ask him further questions, he interrupted me. "Now, here we are, safe and sound at your Tower. Time for you to go to bed, I do believe. Butter corn!" He firmly stated. I took my leave of him, making sure that the map was still in my pocket, and entered into the common room, expecting to find it near empty but was pleasantly surprised to find it full of people. Conversation flowed and babbled as people enjoyed the ending of the day. Very few seemed to be working on homework, but I was more interested in finding my two friends, whom I could count on to be coming up with some trouble. I saw them, in the one corner not warmed by the fire. Giving a sigh, I went and joined the in the corner, noticing, as I drew closer, how Lee was sitting with them.

"Hello, boys," I greeted with an enthusiasm that would have made the Joker seem depressed. I seemed to have startled them, as they all gave a jump, stealing glances around us to make sure that no one had been paying attention. "Would you two relax already? I'm the most inconspicuous person you know, so you ought to know by now that I wouldn't attract attention to you two. And, hello Lee, good to see you." Lee gave a slight wave before returning to the piece of parchment splayed out before the boys. I took a seat on the unoccupied chair and looked at the parchment that had gathered all their attention. It looked as if to be plans for one of the best pranks I had ever seen. I gave a quizzical look to Fred, not believing that they had already broken the rules that we had all agreed to this morning. Before I could gather my anger and start to berate them, Fred gave an almost unperceivable shake of his head and mouthed "I'll explain later," before bending back over the parchment.

"And you are sure this will distract them long enough for us to set up the Hall?" George interrogated Lee. I gestured for Fred to hand me the plan, which he did so gleefully. I looked it over, noting some trouble spots that could easily be taken care of using No-Maj methods, and began to share my insights with the boys. They looked at me in awe, when, after enchanting the parchment to show the changes I had suggested, they realized that sometimes, the best pranks need a little No-Maj touch. I explained to them how, if we added the embellishments I had suggested, no one would be able to pin the prank on us, leaving us detention free and open to practice for Quidditch, like Fred and George wanted to. All quickly agreed to the suggested changes, leaving us plenty of time to goof around, which we proceeded to do with much revelry, until Charlie came barreling down in a frenzy, upset at the amount of noise that we were making, not because we disturbed him but because he didn't want Professor McGonagall to come storming in, yelling at us to go to bed. We laughed before agreeing to quiet down that night.

Lee soon left us, leaving just me and the boys downstairs. They began to play Wizard Chess, much to my enjoyment. I played chess back home, but with a regular board so the No-Maj's wouldn't notice anything amiss if they came to investigate.

I didn't get to bed until late that night, but I thankfully had no classes until eleven o'clock, or so, I could afford to go to sleep later. It was the dreams that plagued me that made me wish for more sleep than I had been granted.

I was once again awoken by the gaggling group of girls that I roomed with, seemingly being as loud as they possibly could be. I peeked out from behind my curtains and saw them all huddled together. "What the devil is going on?" I demanded as I moved my hair out of my face, the strands having managed to cover almost all of my face in the time I had been asleep. I heard their screams and had to stifle a laugh. Need to keep that in mind for another time. It would make a great prank.

"Good grief, Jenson! Do you not care one bit about your appearance?" The darker girl asked almost disgustedly.

"Why should I?" I asked unabashedly. My appearance mattered to myself, and only myself. I had no one to worry about impressing, and school robes covered whatever I would wear, and my hair was typically tied back in a pony tail and under the school cap anyways. So, did it really matter?

"Because, we need to show House pride, and we can't do that looking like we just got in off the streets."

"At least it looks like I've been doing something with my life," I shot back, dragging myself out of the very warm bed and into the bathroom. I blew my hair out of my face, yet again, before running a brush through it and tying it back, remembering that I had Potions again. I had hopes that today would be better than yesterday, simply because I had a better idea of what I was doing now. Then again, it might be in my better interest to keep this under wraps until I could prove myself fully capable to everyone. Keep the expectations low, then show off at exam time frame.

I took a look at the watch I had on my wrist and took note of the time. I quickly threw on my robes and all but ran out of the room, grabbing my bag off the bed, and rushed towards the Great Hall. One thing is for sure, going to school at Hogwarts would be a good way to stay in shape.

I plopped down in a seat shortly after arriving in the Great Hall, enjoying the fragrances that filled the air, allowing my stomach to begin rumbling. I quickly filled my plate and began to enjoy the tasty food provided, this time taking my time to eat, and beginning to read over my Transfiguration textbooks, hoping to get an edge before tonight's session with my Head of House. I just had to get through Potions first, without causing any major embarrassments or get more attention than I already was.

I heard the sounds of people sitting next to either side of me with exasperated sighs. I knew without looking up from my food that it was my two favorite Weasleys, who had probably just stumbled out of bed. "How are you even functioning?" I heard one of them mumble. I merely pointed at the cup of hot coffee sitting in front of me, having been magically refilling it's self when I got low, for which I was really grateful for. Mornings are of the dev- of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I heard the boys mumbling as they loaded up their plates. I looked up, then picked up my book to continue reading now that my hunger had been satiated.

When they had finished eating, Fred and Georg both nudged me, causing me to almost drop my book. I scowled at both of them before placing the book back in my bag. "Well?" I asked them.

"Well what?" They asked together.

"Why did you to nudge me?"

"It's almost time for Potions," George stated. I simply nodded before standing up from the table, walking out of the Great Hall and down to the dark and cold dungeons where the Potions classroom, and my dread, resided. But, it was also where I could learn more about magic and practical uses for it, not that learning about its history wasn't interesting… Actually, no, that's a dead lie. It's like I'm slowly dying in that class. Soon, I'll end up like Binns, and be in the bin.

Instead of allowing myself to be lost in these dismal thoughts, I began to laugh and joke around with the twins as we entered into Slytherin territory.

"So, any thoughts on what your big prank is going to be, Cassie?"

"Plenty, but none that I am going to share from you," I teased George.

"Aw, and why not?" Fred teased me. "Afraid that you won't have any good ideas?" I scoffed at him.

"Afraid that I'll take all of yours," I gave them both a sly grin, when we finally caught up with our classmates, and quickly took our seats, four to a table this time. We all sat quietly, waiting for Hogwarts resident Potions Master to waltz in and start criticizing all of us Gryffindors. Which he gladly did. However, all during the class, he never came over and criticized my work. Guess he knew that if he did, he would just be criticizing all of his work from the night before.

I went to Professor McGonagall's office that evening at the same time I did for Snape's lesson the night before, glad to have finished both my History of Magic assignment and the assignment that Snape gave all the students are the proper way to brew Sleeping Draught potion, as most had screwed up the potion to the point where it was unusable. I was able to recall everything that Snape had growled at me from the night before and left it in the common room for the boys to use to complete their essays, since they were so nice and allowed me to use their essays.

I knocked at the door to McGonagall's office, and walked in when I heard her call to me.

"Well, Miss Jenson. I trust you had the foresight to read ahead and be somewhat prepared for your lesson tonight?" I could tell that she expected the expected the exact opposite.

"Yes, Professor," I saw her raise an eyebrow in complete surprise.

"Well then, let's see what you have learned."


	8. A Winter Wonderland

I was in the Common Room a few months later, the Christmas holidays quickly approaching, and I found myself buried under mountains of assignments, both for my regular classes, and the first year classes I was taking in the evenings. It was enough to make me weep. Luckily, Fred and George had taken pity on me and took it upon themselves to help me get through the mountains of parchment that had covered me completely, hiding me from view. The corner of the Common Room furthest from the fire had become my hide out. It was one of the few corners no one was ever fighting for, so I was able to safely occupy it for days at a time. A sheet was hanging up on the Message Board, telling people to sign up if they were planning on staying at Hogwarts for the holidays. I had already added my signature to the list, and was surrounded by the Weasley's, which wasn't a huge surprise. They had already all come over and mentioned spending Christmas day together. I had agreed, but quickly looked back to the assignments in front of me.

Christmas Day arrived quickly. I was alone in my dorm room, enjoying the time alone. When I woke up, I saw a pile of gifts sitting at the foot of my bed. I was surprised by the sheer numbers of gifts. I was silently thankful that I had managed to procure gifts for the Weasley's, and had planned on giving them their gifts when I saw them later today.

I moved down to the edge of the bed and began to open the pile of presents. There was a lumpy package, that, when opened, revealed a purple sweater with a "C" knitted into the pattern. It looked handmade, and also came with a tin of fudge. I took a bite out of the fudge and read the note I found pinned to the sweater.

 _Hello Cass!_

 _This is Molly Weasley, I'm not sure if you remember me, but we met in Diagon Alley before you had to get on the train. Fred and George both mentioned how you wouldn't be able to return home for the Christmas Holidays, so I made you your very own Weasley sweater. Charlie made mention how you aren't acclimated to our England climate, so hopefully this will help you stay warm._

 _Happy Holidays,_

 _Molly Weasley._

I felt tears welling up in my eyes, trying not to cry at the fact that this lady had taken the time to make me something after meeting me once. I quickly tugged on the sweater, shivering from the little time it had taken to read the short letter from Mrs. Weasley. I found the soft sweater to be incredibly warm. I ran my hands over the sleeves, reveling in the feeling of the sweater. I turned back to the rest of my presents, and saw that they were from my grandparents. How they had managed to get them to England, I will never know.

My grandparents had sent their usual load, including a new book. Only one present really took me by surprise, which I was thankful for, but what I appreciated the most was a picture frame that contained a photo of my mom. There were precious few pictures of her, so for my grandparents to part with one was nothing short of a miracle.

I began to tidy up the trash I had created in my brief time unwrapping my all the present wrappings ay a single envelope, with just my name on it in a fluid script. I opened it up and quickly read the note inside.

 _To Cassiopeia Black,_

 _We are glad to inform you that the house belonging to your father, Number 12 Grimmauld Place, has been transfered to your possession, as per the instructions of your father, Sirius Orion Black._

 _Gringotts Bank._

My father's house had been left to me? He wasn't even dead, but they were giving away his stuff. For some reason, this irked me. I crumpled up the note and threw it away, putting it completely from my mind. Today was Christmas, and that meant I refused to do anything but have fun.

I padded out of the room, dressed in warmer clothes, and into the Common Room, where I found the gaggle of Weasleys laughing and enjoying themselves. I gave a faint smile before sitting in the seat between Fred and George, who immediately looped arms around me and pushed me into hug that I had gotten used to and expected.

"Hello, boys," I greeted, nodding to Percy and Charlie as they grinned at the display put on by myself and their brothers. They nodded their greetings back to me, still grinning at our antics. I gave a sly grin to them, before pulling out the presents I had hidden in my oversized sweater and gave them to their respective people. I enjoyed watching their eyes light up as they saw the selection of candy I had selected for each of them. Fred and George murmured their thanks through their candy filled mouths. Percy looked at his before selecting a piece to nibble on while Charlie put his away for later.

It was then that they dragged me outside to have a snowball fight, which I protested greatly, saying that it was too cold and that I was going to freeze to death. They ignored my protest, and proceeded to bury me in snowballs. I didn't last too long until I was rushing back into the castle, the tips of my fingers turning blue, and I am sure that my lips matched. My lovely new sweater was absolutely drenched, so it no longer allowed any warmth. I stumbled my way up to the Common Room and promptly parked myself in front of the now blazing, and thankfully unoccupied, fire. I attempted to summon a blanket from my room, but still hadn't managed to completely figure out the spell. So, I stood up and walked up to my room, quickly grabbing the warmest blanket available before stalking down to the Common Room, pleased to see my gaggle of Weasleys sitting around the fire, mugs of hot chocolate in hand with another sitting on the table. As I settled into the seat, Fred handed me the mug. I quickly took a sip and felt the warmth spread to my body. I then all but downed the cup sitting in front of me, loving the warmth it provided. We sat there, talking, until it was time to head down to the Christmas Feast.

The Great Hall looked amazing! There were so many trees, all decorated differently. The Hall itself was decorated to look like a winter wonderland! Snow was falling from the ceiling, but it wasn't cold like normal snow. Instead of the usual house tables, there was one table where the staff was seated, along with the few other students who had decided to stay at Hogwarts for the Holidays. We all joined the Staff members already seated at the table, waiting for the food to appear so that we could eat. I just wanted something warm to fill my body. Stupid castle located in Scotland. It had far too many drafty areas, and I was nowhere near acclimated to the climate presented. I had no hopes on surviving the next few years if I couldn't manage to stay warm. I also resolved to get more warm clothing when I went back home. It would be essential to maintaining any sense of warmth, especially in the dungeons during potions. One could only get so close to the flames without being in danger.

I enjoyed my time spent at Hogwarts for the holiday, but I couldn't wait for classes to start back up.

Luckily, my wish came true. Dumbledore summoned me to his office the day before the term started. I quickly made my way to his office from the empty classroom where the boys and I had been practicing some of our pranking idea. The prank war was still ongoing, with George currently in the lead, but I had yet to unleash my brilliant plan.

I muttered the password before hopping onto the stairs and riding them to the top. I gave a small knock at the slightly cracked door, gaining entrance once I heard the low calling to enter. I flounced in, knowing that I wasn't in here to be berated for anything because I hadn't been caught doing anything, yet. "Yes, Professor?"

"Ah, Miss Black. Thank you for coming so quickly. Candy?" He offered me the bowl. I politely declined, waiting to hear why Dumbledore wanted to see me. He placed the bowl back on his desk and looked at me, silence descending upon the room. Finally, one of the portraits spoke up.

"Talk to the girl, Albus! Don't waste any of our valuable time." I knew that the portraits in the office were past headmasters and headmistresses of Hogwarts. They were there to offer advice to the current headmaster.

"Of course, Phineas. My apologies."

"She certainly has the House of Black look about her," the portrait stated. I looked at him questioningly, trying to figure out what he was talking about.

"A later time, Phineas," Dumbledore all but grumbled, not taking his eyes off of me. I continued to look at the Headmaster. "I have been discussing with your professors, and they all seem to be in agreement. You have managed to get caught up, and maintain your grades for your classes. So, I am glad to tell you that this shall be your last week of tutoring sessions, provided that you are able to pass all of the tests that the other professors shall be giving you." He gave me a grin, hands clasped in front of him, seemingly pleased with himself. I continued to sit there, staring at him. We sat there for a bit until Phineas decided to speak up again.

"You, girl! Who is your father?" I turned to face the portrait.

"Sirius Black," I stated as simply as I could. Something indefinable flashed in his eyes before he hurried out of the portrait. When he didn't appear in the next portrait, I gave a start. I was curious as to where he disappeared to. Before I could voice my question to Professor Dumbledore, he dismissed me from his office, his eyes still glued to the now empty portrait.

I walked out of the office and down the steps, pausing only long enough to watch as Peeves drifted down the halls, muttering to himself. I made a mental note to walk cautiously around to castle for the next few days, possibly weeks.

I looked around, taking note that I was all alone before making my way to the Great Hall, ready to begin setting up for my prank. I needed to get measurements for said prank, which I had planned to take place on April first, the twins' birthday. It would be killing two birds with one stone.

I heard the bells begin to ring, signifying that curfew had started. I quietly left the Great Hall and made my way back to the Common Room, using the passages I had memorized. As I stepped out of one passage to tread my way to another, I was pulled into a covered niche. I found myself chest to chest with Charlie Weasley. Before I could make a sound, he clasped his hand over my mouth. "Shh," he whispered. I heard footsteps passing by as my heart leapt into my throat. The blood was rushing through my head as I was acutely aware of how close I was to the older brother of my two best friends.

As the footsteps passed by, I jerked away from Charlie's grasp. "What was that all about?" I demanded.

"Those were Slytherins. They were following you," he hissed at me before poking his head out of the niche. "Why were you out?" He asked me as he grabbed my hand and began to escort me back to the Tower.

"Dumbledore was talking to me about my education. He has decided that, if I can pass the tests that the other Professors will be giving me this week, I won't have to do my tutoring anymore."

"That's a good thing! You've managed to cram an entire year of magical training into one term! Good job!" That was high praise coming from Charlie Weasley. I stayed silent, following him back to the Tower.

We managed to avoid running into anyone else before finally arriving at the Fat Lady's portrait, where she was currently gossiping with her friend, Violet, as they passed a bottle back and forth, making sure that their painted cups remained filled with, what I assumed, wine. I know from previous experiences that it wouldn't be long before they were "singing" at the top of their lungs, before passing out, dead to the world surrounding them.

We entered into the Common Room, finding it in the normal state of chaos. I saw the twins in our usual corner and made my way over to them, leaving Charlie to shake his head at me before he went off to study, his NEWTS fast approaching.

"Hello, boys," I greeted them, sliding into the chair left open between them. I wrapped George in a hug before finding myself trapped between my two boys. "Worried? I teased. I felt them both pull away and could imagine the looks on their faces.

"Worried?" George shockingly asked.

"Why would we be worried?" Fred continued.

"You've somehow never managed to get caught, or get detention!" They crowed together, which immediately led us all to laughter, causing glares and dirty looks to be shot our way. We ignored the looks and continued to be boisterous, enjoying our last night before the term started.

We stayed in our corner, making plans for the term, including finally entering the Forbidden Forest. We had to work around the Quidditch practice sessions (Fred and George had become Beaters and I had been chosen as a backer-up Chaser, much to my surprise).

I looked at the watch on my wrist, noting that it was almost one in the morning. I looked at the boys and noticed the obvious signs of tiredness on them. Hoping they would take a hint, I bid them a good night and headed up to my dorm, loathing the fact that I had roommates again.

I opened the door and was immediately greeted by squealing and giggles. Angelina and Katie were acting like they hadn't seen each other all break, while showing off what they had received for Christmas. I swept past them and walked to my bed. One of the other girls, Caitlin, looked at me before joining the storm of giggling. In the few months I had been here, I had already made a name for myself amongst my fellow Gryffindors as being the most un-Gryffindor Gryffindor. I didn't act like my fellow classmates. I wasn't loud and brash like the twins, even when laughing with them it was more controlled. I didn't have visible courage as was expected by my house. I was quiet, always observing everyone around me, thinking before I acted, and planning before I did anything. Katie and Angelina didn't like me because I didn't fit in with their ideals. Everyone in my House, with the exception of the twins and Charlie, avoided me. Even Lee Jordan interacted with me as little as possible. They didn't seem to trust me, which was fair considering that I didn't trust many of them.

I grabbed my pajamas and moved to the bathroom, quickly getting ready for bed, not wanting to be up any later than I already was. I crawled into bed and drew the curtains around the bed, hoping to muffle the high pitched shrieks.

When they still hadn't ended close to an hour later, I grabbed a pillow and blanket and moved to the Common Room. I found it was near abandoned, with the fire burning low. I shuffled over to the couch closest to the fire and began to make myself comfortable. I placed my pillow down at one end and began to spread my blanket out before sitting down and covering myself. I began to lay back, only to meet resistance. I quickly moved back to my seated position only to feel my feet being lifted up, causing me to move back to where I had first met resistance.

"Relax, Cassie," I heard Fred whisper as he began to run his hand through my hair, something I would normally hate but found relaxing at this point in the night. I felt like someone else begin to rub my feet and surmised that it was George. I could feel myself relaxing, falling into the world of dreams with a welcoming smile. I didn't need my House's acceptance, I already had friends who accepted me.


	9. A Potion for You is one I brewed

I woke up, curled up on the couch, but surprisingly alone. I looked around, hoping that I hadn't overslept, but was pleasantly surprised to find that it was only six in the morning. I quickly got up, gathered what I had brought down stairs with me, and trudged back up the stairs, ready to get my day started.

I walked out of the shower, feeling refreshed for the first time in a long time. Granted, I had only four hours of sleep from the night before, but I was ready to face the day, hoping that I would be able the tests that my professors would be putting me through. I could see the end of the endless nights of studying that I had been doing since the beginning of the school year.

I gathered up the items I would be needing for the day, wanting to be able to study as much as possible between classes, and made my way to the Great Hall for breakfast. Before I was even halfway there, I saw Peeves attempting to hide behind a corridor. I quickly, and quietly, turned around, making my way back to a passage that the twins had shown me that would lead to the Great Hall.

The quiet of the passage lured me into a sense of calm. I allowed myself to enjoy the bit of peace that was evident. I exited from the corridor, and was immediately greeted by screams. It seemed as if Peeves scheme had nailed a Gryffindor, much to my pleasure. I entered into the Hall, laughter staining my face as tears ran down my cheeks. I quickly sat down at the table and began to place food on the plate in front of me. I ate my breakfast, my thoughts focused on my grand prank instead of strategies for my upcoming tests.

I soon noticed two heads of red hair flop down on either side of me, along with another directly in front of me. "Good morning, Weasleys," I stated before taking another drink of the coffee placed in front of me.

"Morning, Cass," Charlie greeted from in front of me. "How did you sleep?"

"Well enough, Charlie. How about you?" He nodded his head, his mouth full of food, the now infamous Weasley appetite taking hold. I stifled a laugh before feeling fingers making their way across my side, wanting me to laugh. I quickly swatted the hand away, shooting a quick glare to the owner of the hand, who gave me a sheepish look. I broke my glare and gave Fred a quick smile. "George, don't even think about it," I warned, already knowing that he was about to try his hand at tickling me. Charlie was mow he one trying to smother his laughter.

"Just how much coffee have you had this morning, Cassie?" Fred asked, rubbing his hand.

I looked down at my watch and saw it was half past seven, meaning I had been there for about forty-five minutes. "I would guess this is my second cup," I responded. I saw them exchange looks before each giving a shrug, mostly for my benefit.

I began to pack up my things that I had set out to study but never got around to studying. "Where are you going, Cassie?" Fred asked.

"I have a question for Snape that I'm hoping he will be willing to answer for me." I swept out of the Great Hall, heading down to the dungeons, hoping to avoid the typical sneer given to me by the grumpy Potions Professor. He had a very obvious disdain for all things Gryffindor, and a particular public disgust for me. I shivered as I descended the steps that led to the Potions classroom, and the Potions Master's office. I gave a gentle knock at the office door and heard the disdainful permission to enter. I quietly came in, surprised by how he actually allowed me in during the school day. "Good morning, Professor," I greeted as I took a seat in front of his desk, which was full of papers turned in by students.

"Good morning, Miss Black. I trust you have talked with the Headmaster?"

"Yes, sir," I confirmed.

"Your exam will be tonight, promptly at seven." He looked up from the paper he was marking to give me a rare smile. "Not that it really matters. You are quite an advanced brewer, especially considering your lack of training and your leaning to Gryffindor."

"Be careful, Professor. One would think that you like me," I mocked in his usual tone.

"One would begin to think that you are like your father, Miss Black, if you continue with your 'Grand Prank' idea." I wasn't surprised that he had surmised my plan.

"Well, sir, I simply find it a way to demonstrate my brewing abilities that flourished under your tutelage," flattery never hurt anyone.

"You really should have been in Slytherin, Miss Black," he stated as he had every week since I had completed my first potion with near perfection. The argument that had arisen from that led to his statement about me being with Slytherin. Often, during the times I was simply waiting for my potions to finishing simmering, we talked about my mother, whom he had surprisingly gotten along with when he went to school. We had a sort of understanding that in class, I was as the scum of the earth, my House colors making a target out of everything I did, meaning if it was anything less than perfect I would lose House Points. But, during my tutoring sessions, he would give back every point I had lost on the most recent class session if I did it properly and perfectly. "What is your reasoning for visiting me this morning, Miss Black?"

"I was wondering if, after I has passed my exam, we could still continue the brewing lessons, sir?"

"You truly love pushing yourself to the limits, don't you, Miss Black?"

"I wish to pursue potions as a career, sir," I informed him. I saw his eyes spark in interest.

"I will discuss something with the Headmaster, Miss Black, but I believe it will be possible to make some adjustments for your schedule next school year. Now, don't you have somewhere else to be?" I heard him slip a disdainful sneer at the end. I stood up, immediately painting a look of anger on my face.

"I know you're goin g to fail me on purpose," I sneered back at him, guessing that there was a Slytherin student behind me.

"I have grown tired of your childish outbursts, Miss Jensen. Please leave my office. I have more important matters to attend to than your lack of preparation." I stormed out of the office, pushing past the gawking Slytherin student. I managed to hide the grin threatening to overtake my angry facial expression. I went to the private lab that Snape had shown me to allow me to have the freedom to work as I desired. I looked at the potions I currently had brewing, both a Pepper-Up Potion, and a form of a Cheering potion that I had modified with the held of Snape. They were almost ready to be bottled and added to my collection, I had been slowly been building up a rapport with the House Elves, hoping that it would lead to them helping me with this innocent prank.

I also thought about what Snape had mentioned. If he knew about my plan, then it wouldn't be too far-fetched to assume that he knew when I planned to do it. I would just have to move up my time table for my prank and do it by the end of the week. The current batches should be completed by tonight, meaning I could come by after my "test" and bottle up the potions. I could take all of the bottles to the House Elves tomorrow. Yeah, this could work.

I quickly left the lab and made my way to my first class of the day, taking my usual seat with Fred and George, my thoughts consumed with my plans. I wasn't too worried about taking notes for class, because it was History of Magic and it didn't even matter. I had already figured out that Binns only taught about the Goblin Wars.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey, everyone, I am so sorry that I can't seem to keep to an update schedule. I have had a lot on my plate with school and personal issues. I am am also sorry that this chapter is shorter than usual. It's been hard to find my motivation for this story, well for all my stories. However, I will hopefully be updating more!**

 **Also, feel free to bash me on Snape here. I am not a Gryffindor, so it's very hard for me to write in that mindset, plus, I really love Potions and felt like Cassie needed a mentor. Anyways, I would love any and all reviews you want to leave! Thank you for all the support!**


	10. A Prank, I think

I walked into Snape's office, promptly at seven, ready to see what he had planned for this examination that the headmaster was insisting on. I had no doubt that I would pass this silly little test, but formalities must be met. Shape gave me one look before motioning to the cauldron set on the sole table in the room. "Miss Black, you will be brewing a Pepper-Up Potion as your final." Now I could see why he wasn't worried about this test. He knew that I had been brewing this potion, in large portions, and knew that I was confident with it, and who was I to prove him wrong? I quickly got down to business, gathering the necessary supplies and beginning the preparations to make the potion to the standards that Snape had instilled in me.

"Miss Black, I do not have all night," he drawled, attempting to seem disinterested. I smirked, giving him a look conveying that he wasn't hiding anything from me. I returned to the potion in front of me, adding the proper ingredients at the correct time. I knew that Snape only wanted me to do my best, and that he pushed me more than he did most students, including his precious Slytherin students.

When I had finished the potion, I ladled a portion of it into a flask, neatly labeling it with the name of the potion and signing it with a flourish that would mark it as my work. I placed it, proudly, on Snape's desk. As I was packing up, I saw Snape pick up the potion, opening it up and giving it a quick sniff. "So, do I pass, sir?" I cheekily inquired. He gave me a mock glare, before breaking his façade and grinning at me.

"Superb performance as usual, Miss Black. You passed, not that it is really that surprising."

"Sir, did you give me this potion on purpose?"

"Why ever would I do that, Miss Black? That would be favoritism, which goes against the basics of what Hogwarts stands for." I could hear his sarcastic tone, and knew what he was referring to. Despite the fact that Professors preached on equality and everyone passing, or failing, on their own merits, there was always a bias, even amongst the so called "fair" Professors. It wasn't right, but there was nothing anyone could, or would, do to fix.

"Right, sir," I nodded before grabbing my back and leaving the room.

The week passed by, uneventfully. I took all the exams that Dumbledore put before me, and passed them all. Everyone continued on with classes, just waiting for the end of the year to come, when the summer break (or "holiday" as it was referred to here) would start. I, however, was waiting for everyone to be lulled into a sense of security before I unleashed my great prank, without getting caught. I still had a reputation to maintain, and grandparents not to cross.

Finally, my opportunity came. I knew that no one would be expecting me to do anything on the Twins' birthday, which was quite unfortunate for them. It was like they didn't know me at all. Luckily, I even had Snape convinced that I had given up on my prank, much to his pleasure and my relief. I had strengthened my relationship with the House Elves, making it possible for them to help me now when I asked for it, such as now.

It was the morning before the twins birthday, a cold Sunday. I strolled the Kitchens, after sneaking out of the Tower, wrapped in my sweater from Mrs. Weasley, with my bag full of vials in hand. I was immediately greeted by the many excited voices of the castle House Elves, all clamoring for my attention and wanting to help me with whatever I needed, as was their nature. One voice rose above the rest.

"Hello, Dipsy," I greeted the Elf I had taken a particular preference to.

"What woulds Misses Jensons want todays?"

"I just need you to add this Pepper-Up potion to all the drinks for lunch tomorrow, Dipsy." I saw a look of horror cross her face. "Dipsy, it won't harm anyone, in fact, it will help most students get through their day," I hurried to reassure her. As I saw her begin to grin, I knew that she would do what I asked. I handed her the bag and quickly gave her a hug before leaving and heading to the Great Hall for breakfast. I was quickly joined at the table by my two favorite boys, both suspiciously cheery for the early morning.

"Good morning, boys," I greeted after I took a sip of my coffee. They nodded their greetings, continuing to place food unceremoniously into their mouths. I bit back a giggle, and finished off my small breakfast. Soon, all that was left in front of me was my usual cup of coffee, quietly refilling it once more with the life-preserving liquid that also helped me stay semi-warm while living in Scotland.

"What are you doing up so early, Cassie?" George asked me. I looked at both of them, and saw that Fred was barely awake, meaning that it had been another long night for my boys.

"Had an errand to take care of. Did you get any sleep last night?" They exchanged sheepish looks before shrugging their shoulders.

"We were reviewing our plans to get into the Forbidden Forest," George answered. I nodded my head, knowing that meant that they got no sleep, and that Fred would be barely functioning. It was then that I was thankful that it was a Sunday, which would allow all of us the opportunity to catch up on sleep, or homework. Well, more like both.

"Cassie, did you ever finish that essay for Snape?" Fred asked me. I nodded my head, still sipping my coffee. "Can I see it when we get back to the Common Room?" I gave him a look before nodding my head. I knew it would benefit the three of us more if I allowed him the opportunity to "compare" his essay with mine.

We finished up breakfast and made our way outside, choosing to wait before working on our assignments. I asked them about the plan to get into the Forbidden Forest, and their reply was a simple smirk. They escorted me past Hagrid's hut, and followed the well worn path. We quickly made our way to the fringes of the Forest, only to find our way blocked by Dumbledore.

"Miss Jenson, Misters Weasley, how are you on this fine, Spring morning?" He asked in his typical, over-polite tone that I had come to associate with many of the residents.

"Doing quite well, Professor," I answered, quickly covering for the twins. Despite their prancing nature, they were still unable to lie when confronted by an authority figure. I saw Dumbledore quickly evaluate the situation, and where we were.

"I trust that you were not about to make your way into the Forest, which you have been told many times not to enter."

"Of course not, Professor. We were just walking along one of the many paths on the grounds." I gave him what I hoped looked like an innocent smile. He simply nodded before walking off, pausing to look back at us before continuing. It was obvious that he expected us to follow him back to the school. We exchanged looks before silently following him back to the school. It was obvious that we weren't going to get to explore the Forest.

We returned to the Common Room, slightly upset that our plans had been dashed. I dashed up to my room and grabbed my schoolwork, returning to our corner and allowing the boys to "compare" their essays to mine. We spent the remainder of the day in the same fashion, before heading back to our respective rooms to go to sleep.

I awoke, bright and early the next morning, much to the dismay of my roommates, who immediately guessed that I was up to something. When they attempted to press me for more details, I just ignored them. I was looking forward to the lunch hour, especially because I planned on adding more to Fred and George's mealtime experience.

I barely paid any attention in my morning classes, too excited for what I knew was coming. I forced myself not to rush off to lunch, instead staying near my boys as they excitedly talked about what they wanted to do later that day. Their excitement was contagious, which also allowed me the perfect excuse as to why I was so jittery.

We entered the Main Hall and were immediately greeted by my victims, the tell-tale signs of steam coming out of their ears, many seemingly upset, while others were laughing, making a comical sight as steam came out of their gaping mouths as well. The twins immediately began guffawing at the sight presented to them. I chuckled next to them, glad to see that my plan was working. We walked to our normal spots, sitting down joyously. They immediately began filling their plates when another student walked up. I made a note of who it was before they started speaking. Since they were a Slytherin, I figured there would be trouble.

"I don't know what you think you were doing, Weasleys, but it's not funny." Immediately, my boys were drawn into a "discussion" on how they didn't do anything. While they were protesting their innocence, I discreetly placed my final vials into their awaiting food. I turned to the argument that was happening and noticed how close it was to coming to blows.

"Now, boys, I'm sure you weren't about to break Hogwarts rules on fighting? I would hate for anyone to have to serve a detention," I sarcastically broke in. All three heads swiveled to face me, exasperation written on the Slytherin's face while the twins were grinning from ear to ear. "I would suggest you walk back to your table, now, before I think you're threatening my lovely meal time." I turned back to my plate, adding food to it, completely ignoring the Slytherin standing behind me. I could feel him glaring before he stalked off, having probably decided it wasn't worth it.

My boys turned back to their food, looks of enjoyment coloring their expressions. They began to dig in to their lunches, much to my pleasure. The effect was almost instantaneous, their hair began to grow and change colors. They looked at each other, before immediately laughing.

"Happy Birthday, boys," I told them with the biggest grin on my face. They gave me big hugs, and I knew that my gift was well received.


	11. An End is Only a Beginning

The end of the school year was fast approaching. Everyone was so excited for the summer break, where as I was stressing over the fact that I would be returning to America, and my old time zone. I knew that my body clock would be messed up again, and since I would only be home for a few months, it would cause my body more stress. It was these thoughts that drove me to where I was currently, sitting in my bed, pen and paper in hand, as I contemplated what to write to my grandparents that would voice my concerns without disrespecting them. My grandparents had sacrificed so much to raise me, and while I appreciated all they had done, they had kept me away from my birthplace and sought to keep all knowledge about my father far away.

I put the letter away for the day, instead wishing to focus on final exams that were fast approaching. The twins didn't seem to concerned about them, so I decided not to be too concerned. Instead, we decided that pulling off one last prank would be a better use of our time, and certainly a stress reliever. Our laughs filled the Common Room each night, much to the displeasure of our House mates. Charlie would often come over and politely ask us to quiet down, but the twinkle in his eye let us know that he truly didn't care, so long as we didn't blow up the Common Room.

It was at breakfast on the weekend before finals that I received a letter from my grandparents. I opened it hesitantly, unsure about why they had written to me, guessing that it involved the smoke bombs I had set off a week earlier. As I scanned through the letter, I realized that my dilemma had been solved for me. Apparently, Mrs. Weasley had written to my grandparents, inviting me to join their family for the summer. My grandparents had agreed to part of the summer, and were letting me know that I would be spending the month before school at the Weasleys. I was ecstatic as I read the news, knowing that my summer became a little more manageable, and it gave me something to look forward to.

The twins and I launched our grand prank, which resulted in an immediate detention for all three of us. It was my first detention of the year, surprising all of us. Our detention was with Filch, much to our displeasure. He made us clean one of the corridors, which we kinda did. We spent most of the detention laughing and goofing off with each other. It was one of the best nights I had had at Hogwarts since Christmas. I felt more like I had a family around them than I did around my grandparents. I began to look forward to summer, and getting to spend part of it with my boys.

Final Exams passed quickly (for me) but slowly for the twins, who would rather prank and plan pranks than study. (To be fair, I would rather prank as well, but if I didn't do well on my exams, my grandparents would probably kill me.) I was just thankful that we didn't have to take our O.W.L.S. yet. I didn't even want to think about it. Gryffindor threw a big party after exams had been completed, and many of the seventh years got sloshed, including Charlie. The twins and I performed some small pranks, mainly drawing on the faces of those passed out in the Common Room.

My final night at Hogwarts was just as magical (pun intended) as my first night. The Farewell Feast was just as grand as the Welcome feast, and more boisterous than before. Everyone, it seems, was excited to be returning home. Well, it was probably more excitement on not having to be at Hogwarts. But, either way, the energy in the room was infectious. I could feel myself becoming giddy. I had survived my first year at Hogwarts, and my first year in the United Kingdom, if so barely. I still couldn't get over how cold it was there.

When the feast ended, everyone slowly, but surely, returned to their Common Rooms. Gryffindor, much to no one's surprise, had our own end of the year party. Percy Weasley complained the entire time, being the usual stuck-up I had come to associate with his name. Everyone ignored him and continued on with the party, until McGonagall came storming into the Common Room, all but yelling at everyone to go to bed. The party ended rather abruptly, with almost everyone rushing off to their rooms, the exception being myself and the twins. We moved back to our corner, trying to be as quiet as possible, but just enjoying our last night together at Hogwarts until the next school year. We stayed up most of the night, just reminiscing on my first year at Hogwarts, and what trouble we could cook up for the next year.

We stayed in the Common Room all night, eventually falling asleep on the couches, much like I had before, when they found me in the Common Room and comforted me. It was so strange how comfortable I was with these boys, how I felt like I finally found kindred spirits and could be myself. My grandparents had tried to change how I was, how I acted. They didn't want me to be a prankster, to make trouble. They wanted me to be a proper young lady, like my mother was. Or, how they claimed my mother was. I was more interested in being myself, even at that young age. But, they say that hindsight is twenty-twenty.

Everyone boarded the Hogwarts Express, talking about their plans for the summer, and where they would be going. I sat quietly in the compartment by myself. The twins had gone off, looking for Charlie about something they were keeping a secret from me. Instead of snooping, I wanted to trust them, I wanted to believe that they wouldn't hurt me. So, I sat in the peace and quiet of the train compartment. Summer would be interesting, and I was looking forward to returning during the summer.

The train arrived at the Station, leading to a mass exodus of everyone. The twins, who had returned by this time, helped me get my things off the train. We ran into the rest of their family just outside of the train. Mrs. Weasley gave me a big hug, saying she hoped that I had a splendid year, and making sure that I knew that I was invited over to join them for the summer. I assured her that my grandparents had told me, and that I was looking forward to spending some time with them before the school year started. I started to say good-bye to the family, when Mrs. Weasley informed me to wait, someone was going to be taking me to the airport, where I would get on an airplane and meet my grandparents in America. However, because I was going to be returning to Britain before the school year started, the Weasley's would be taking my school items with them. Luckily, when I was packing my trunk, I had put everything I brought with me to Britain in the same duffle I originally had. Mr. Weasley picked up my trunk, after I had retrieved my simple duffle, bidding me a "good day, and a happy summer" before telling his family to gather along, it was time for them to head back home. I told them all good-bye, but gave hugs to Fred, George, and Charlie (at his insistence, but I wasn't going to complain about a hug.)

I sat at Platform 9 ¾, waiting for whomever it was that was supposed to be taking me to the airport. I got lost in thought, thinking about Hogwarts and the magical time I had there, finally feeling like I belonged somewhere, and that I wasn't as alone as I felt.

"Cassie?" I heard a voice call out; one that seemed strangely familiar, almost like it was from a dream. I looked around and saw a scraggly man with scars covering his face walking towards me, a huge grin covering his face. He seemed to almost glow when he saw me.

"Yes?" I asked, cautiously.

"Hello," I stuck out his hand, offering to shake mine, which I did. "I'm Remus Lupin. I was a friend of your father and mother back in school."

"Oh! Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lupin."

"Please, call me Remus. I was there when you were born. In fact, I'm your godfather."

"Excuse me, what?" I cried as I shot up from where I was seated. "How come I've never heard of you before?"

"Your grandparents decided that it would be better if I wasn't in your life. And I'm not exactly in a position to argue with them." He looked sad, almost as if he wished he could be in my life. "But, when Professor Dumbledore contacted me, saying that there was a student who needed a ride to the airport and that this particular student would be of particular interest to me. So, I agreed to taking them to the airport, but it wasn't until today that I found out it was you that I was picking up. I couldn't wait to see you again. I haven't seen you since you were three, when your grandparents told me that they were taking you to America, and that I was never to contact you again."

"And here we are, ten years later."

"Yeah. Well, your flight isn't until eight, so that means that we have some time to talk, if you want."

"I'd like that." I gave him a smile, having plenty of questions for him, mainly about my father and his time at school.

Remus took me to a small café, where we sat down, enjoying a cup of coffee. "So," I opened up the conversation, "I heard that my dad was quite a prankster back in school."

He gave a chuckle. "I'd say our entire little group were pranksters. We used to get into so much trouble, our small group of four."

"And you called yourselves the Marauders?" He looked at me in surprise.

"How do you know that name?"

"Well, a couple of my friends have a map in their possession called the Marauders Map."

"And why would you assume that we were a part of this group?"

"Well, when my friends showed me the map, they said something that would open it. Later, I tried to open it myself, but said the phrase wrong. The map called me 'Miss Padfoot' and listed another Padfoot. It wasn't hard to assume that it was all of yours from your school days."

"You're very smart. Much like your mum was. I guess there's no harm in letting you know. Yes, that was our map. We made it back during our school days. It was confiscated, though, so I have no idea why you would have it."

"My friends found it. It's a useful map. Certainly when it comes to planning pranks."

"Ah, yes, it would be. Hence why we made it." We both laughed at that statement. Before I could ask anymore, however, Remus looked at his watch. "Oh! I do believe I should be getting you to the airport soon. You need to be checked in pretty soon." He stood up, offering me a hand. "I can honestly say that I am so glad that I got to see you again, and see the beautiful young lady that you have become. I hope to hear from you, soon."

I nodded before throwing my arms around the man, giving him a hug. He flinched at first, before returning the hug.

We made it to the airport, where he escorted me inside and made sure I was all checked-in. As I was boarding the plane to head back to America, I turned back to face him. "Good-bye, Uncle Remus. I'll be sure to write to you, as much as I can!" I could see tears forming in his eyes as he waved good-bye to me. I boarded the plane, ready to head back to America, if only so I could return as soon as possible.


End file.
